Good Eye, Sniper
by FallAway
Summary: He heard the sirens before he saw the lights. This is the summer after the fact, and they’re finding their own way to cope. Dick and Mac take a road trip. Complete.
1. Casa de Killer

Summary: He heard the sirens before he saw the lights. This is the summer after the fact, and they're finding their own way to cope. Dick and Mac take a road trip.

Disclaimer: No, I don't own them! Cassidy would not be evil if I did!

A/N: I got the idea randomly and then Hider went "OMG SAM WRITE ME DICK AND MAC FIC" so of course I had to since she's my Hider and I can't say no to her. Kind of a curse. Anyway: let me know what you think.

--

He drained the last of the beer and tossed it into a nearby trashcan, nodding to various people as he left the suite. He flipped his keys idly as he stepped into the elevator. He wasn't drunk, not even close, and for some reason the sentence "I didn't graduate" failed to bring the ladies around. It pissed him off, but what the fuck? At least he was getting his diploma at the end of the summer.

Fucking biology.

If it hadn't been for that stupid science project he would've walked across that stupid little stage and gotten that stupid piece of paper that declared him a high school graduate. Hearst had already let him in with the grades he'd gotten in his other classes throughout the years, so there was really no point in not letting him graduate.

He rolled his eyes and leaned against the back of the elevator, flipping his keys impatiently. Logan had gone all catatonic after Veronica had showed up at the party looking for the Beaver. He wasn't really sure why, but nobody else would hang out with him so there was no point in staying at the impromptu grad night party that had been thrown in one of the Grand's suites any longer.

Stepping out of the elevator, he winked at the cute new receptionist and ignored her look of vague disgust. He tossed his keys into the air and caught them again as he pushed his way past the throng of people by the front doors. When he stepped outside he was momentarily distracted by the cute blonde that was talking on her cell phone by the valet booth. She smiled at him and he leered, walking closer to her and shoving his keys back in his pocket.

As he got closer, he realized she was telling a story to the person on the other end of the line. She sounded almost frantic and her facial expression matched the emotion, but it didn't occur to him that something was actually wrong until he stopped walking toward her and listened to what was going on.

He heard the sirens before he saw the lights.

The blonde rolled her eyes as he shoved past her, and he nearly ran around the corner of the building to see what the commotion was about. He froze when he saw the body lying in the middle of the street, and his eyes strayed to the roof of the hotel before roaming over the crowd of policemen and paramedics that had crowded on the sidewalk.

Someone placed the body on a stretcher and declared the time of death to have been about five minutes before he got there. It made him sick but he walked closer anyway, a light sheen of tears clouding his vision.

He couldn't remember the last time he cried.

"Sir," a man in a uniform stopped him with a hand to his chest. "I'm going to have to ask you to leave, this is a formal investigation."

"Cassidy Casablancas?" he asked.

The man dropped his hand and nodded gravely. Dick nodded in turn and hastily wiped at his eyes before folding his arms across his chest. "He's my brother."

--

Logan was at Veronica's apartment. That was the first thing Dick registered after he drove home and got his friend's voice mail six times in a row. And what the fuck did she have to do with Beaver committing suicide? She was looking for him at the party but after that she just disappeared.

Fuck.

He rolled his eyes and started going through the bottles of alcohol he had laid out on the counter, opened them all and started chugging. He wasn't drunk yet but he would be; he'd make sure of that. There was no fucking way he was going to deal with this sober.

--

The curtains opened and he groaned in pain, turning over to bury his face in the carpet and block out the blinding light of the sun outside. She came to a stop about two feet from his face. He vaguely recognized the worn-out black Chuck Taylors but coherent thought was not high on his list of functioning mechanics at the moment.

"Get up," she said firmly. Her voice didn't waver and he found himself wondering how the fuck she was that calm after last night.

His only response was to groan. A moment later she sat down next to him and folded her legs underneath her. She sighed and shoved at his shoulder until he rolled over, his hands automatically coming up to cover his eyes as he groaned again.

"Dick, get up," she repeated.

"What the _fuck_?"

"Have you lost all ability to think? And here I thought you had a higher tolerance for alcohol than that," she shook her head in disappointment.

Dick cracked an eye open and immediately regretted the action when he was almost blinded by the spot of sunshine behind her. He didn't blink though. He just continued to stare at her until she rolled her eyes and cuffed him on the head.

"Get up," she said again, more irritably. "You are not going to sit around at Case de Killer all summer."

The words registered in the back of his mind as his own, but he didn't have time to process a retort before she was standing up and pulling him with her, letting him fall back on the couch as she sat down on the coffee table. He groaned again and she rolled her eyes once more for effect.

"Aspirin are on the counter and there are clean towels in the bathroom. Take the pills, take a shower, and pack a bag," she demanded. Dick raised an eyebrow and she set her jaw.

"Pack a bag? Are we having a sleepover?"

Mac stared at him and then shook her head slowly. Something in her expression shifted and he found himself wondering what exactly had gone on last night. She shrugged it off only a second later, and had the pounding in his head been a little less he probably would have noticed the way her voice wavered the next time she spoke.

"We're going on a road trip."

His eyebrows shot up and he sputtered, leaning forward on the couch so that he could see her more clearly. "I'm sorry, what?"

"We're going on a road trip," she repeated, more confidently. "Unless, of course, you want to stay in this house and torture yourself."

He blinked at her and she raised an impatient eyebrow, patting him on the head as she stood and headed in the direction of the stairs. "I'll pack your crap; you take a shower! We leave in half an hour!"

She gasped when she reached the top of the stairs and he winced when he realized she had reached his baby brother's room. Like – fuck – but that was the reason he hadn't gone upstairs when he got home. He preferred getting smashed on the couch.

Footsteps sounded in the hallway upstairs and he heard her annoyed sigh as she entered his room. The house was too quiet – he could hear everything she was doing and it was driving him insane. He vaulted off the couch and stopped dead in his tracks as the pounding in his head increased exponentially, and he grabbed the aspirin bottle off the counter as he passed through the kitchen to get to the downstairs bathroom.

His fingers shook as he popped the bottle open and he rolled his eyes as he swallowed three or four of the little pills. The water from the showerhead sprayed him as he turned the nozzles to get it to the right temperature. He stripped off his clothes and closed his eyes when he finally stepped under the spray.

--

Mac slid into the driver's side of the car and he leaned back in his seat uneasily. The convertible top slid down a moment later and she offered him a small smile as she pulled out of the driveway.

Dick turned and watched his house until they turned the corner and he couldn't see it anymore. He fiddled with the radio and froze when he came across news coverage of the incident at the Grand, coverage that was followed with the fact that the mystery behind the bus crash had finally been solved.

She stuck a CD into the player and he trained his eyes on the unfamiliar scenery as they drove past the city limits and out of Neptune, headed in a direction that he wasn't even aware of.

After a while, he turned to face her and she rested her head on her hand as she leaned her elbow against the door. He studied her, taking in the newly-dyed green streaks of hair that were whipping around her face, and he wondered how the fuck she was dealing with all of this.

"Didn't your mother ever teach you not to stare?"

"My mother didn't teach me much of anything," he countered. "Didn't your mother ever teach you not to show up at people's houses and drag them on road trips to unknown destinations?"

"Oh, big word for Dick! More than three syllables? Color me shocked," she turned her head slightly and gave him a smirk. "And if you're trying to analyze me, don't. I don't even know what I'm doing."

Nodding, he traced the interior of the car with his index finger. He leaned his head back against the seat again and closed his eyes, fighting the last remaining hints of his hangover. A semi-comfortable silence settled over the two as she continued to drive down the highway, the only sound coming from the CD player.

It sort of pissed him off that everything was this calm after what had happened less than twenty-four hours ago.


	2. Take Care of Me

He leaned against the wall nonchalantly, surveying the mess that coated the room in front of him. His little brother rolled his eyes from his position on the bed and turned his attention back to the book in his hand.

"Not in the mood, Dick."

Dick chuckled and pushed himself off the wall, kicking aside random articles of clothing as he made his way across the room. "Dude, let's go surfing. Do _something_, I'm _bored_," he complained.

"Read a book."

"Beaver!" he smacked him over the head impatiently. "Call Logan, we can throw a beach party or something," he sighed and flopped back on the end of the bed at his brother's feet. The quiet sound of a page turning filled the room, but he got no response other than that. He groaned again and looked up at his little brother.

Startled, he did a double-take. Sure enough, Beaver was lying on the bed – covered in blood, limp as a rag doll. Dick jumped off the mattress and backed up across the room, only to run into his little brother again once he reached the door.

This one wasn't dead, though.

"What the fuck?"

"Logan's with Veronica, Dick," Beaver shook his head. "You've got no one left, remember?" his facial features flashed red, then returned to normal. "All alone in the world, who the fuck are you going to turn to now?"

"Stop," Dick pleaded. "Fuck, just _stop_."

"Dick!"

He backed away from his brother and leaned against the window, breathing heavily. This was not cool. His name was called again and he felt someone grab his arm, shaking it. When he looked down no one was touching him, and he furrowed his brow in confusion.

"Dick, wake _up_!"

Jumping slightly, he woke up and blinked at his surroundings. His heart was racing and Mac's hand was on his arm, a concerned expression on her face. He exhaled loudly and leaned his head back, chuckling nervously. Taking her hand from his arm, she nodded toward the diner they were parked in front of.

"Hungry?"

--

She played with the salt shaker, sliding it back and forth across the shiny surface of the table. He watched her interestedly, waiting for her to say something – anything – to make this make sense. She just continued to slide the shaker back and forth, forward and reverse.

"Dude, are you trying to set the record for longest salt shaker slide?"

Startled, she looked up at him with wide eyes and gripped the shaker firmly in her hand. "Is it bothering you?"

"No, it's just-" he paused and considered his words "-what the fuck are we doing, Mac?"

"Well, I am waiting for the nice waitress to come over here with my coffee," she replied. "And you are asking me questions that I don't know the answers to."

"Beaver-"

"-is gone, and I am not discussing that with you in the middle of a Denny's, okay?"

Dick sat back in the booth and nodded his understanding. Mac smiled slightly and picked a crayon out of the small box that was sitting next to the pepper shaker. She held up the small piece of blue wax and raised an eyebrow.

"Tic-tac-toe?"

Raising an eyebrow in response, he leaned forward and rested his elbows on the table. "If you're prepared to lose," he grinned. She scoffed and pulled a napkin out of the dispenser, slapping it down on the table and handing him a crayon of his own.

"I call X's," she proclaimed. "And not even your brother could beat me at this game, so I wouldn't be so damn cocky if I were you."

The mention of his brother was casual, said in passing, but it still made his heart kick into gear. He stared at her seriously and then shrugged, drawing a small 'O' in one of the squares she precariously traced onto the napkin.

--

She yawned and leaned her head back against the seat, idly rubbing at her eyes as they continued down the freeway. Dick frowned as he watched her. Dark circles were present under her eyes and he knew instinctively that she hadn't gotten any sleep since … well, since_ it_ happened.

He couldn't bring himself to think about _it_. Even in passing, it made his entire body ache to consider. It didn't make any fucking sense to him – he was supposed to be his brother's best friend and what the fuck? He didn't care what had caused his little brother to start acting like a character from a Stephen King novel.

Well, he did, but the point was that he wanted to _know_ about it. Beaver should've been able to tell him. That was all it came down to. It should've been something he was aware of, even if he wasn't in on it. It wasn't fair.

"Deep thoughts for Dick day?"

Frowning, he snapped back to the moment to find her raising an eyebrow in question. He shook his head and asked her to repeat what she had said, settling back in his seat as she asked him if he wanted to drive or get a motel room for the night.

Dick let out a breath and shrugged his shoulders, running a hand through his shaggy blonde hair. Mac rolled her eyes and turned her attention to finding the next exit, rattling off something about being tired and not wanting to sleep in her car.

"Find a Hilton or something," he requested. Raising an eyebrow, she didn't turn to look at him and switched lanes. She winced when a semi-truck went flying past them and he realized that he had become way too attuned to her within the last twelve hours.

"I don't have money for a room at a Hilton or something," she argued. "We'll find a motel."

"And sleep with the rats? Fuck that," he shook his head. "I'm not getting some STD from the sheets at an unkempt hole in the wall motel."

She winced again at his mention of getting an STD and he furrowed his brow. Just as he was about to ask her what he'd said to inspire such a reaction, she sighed reluctantly and cut him off. "I don't want your money."

"Nor a rat's nest in your bed. Let me pay."

The car turned off of the freeway and he glanced back at the exit sign curiously. Mac pulled into the parking lot of a gas station that was just off the exit ramp and undid her seat belt, turning to face him in the driver's seat.

"I didn't bring you on this trip to coddle me," she snapped. "And I don't need you to take care of me, so if you think that's why I brought you here then you're really fucking deluded."

He blinked at her, shocked at the outburst. "What the fuck? I'm not trying to _take care of you_, and if you think I am then _you_ are the deluded one in this car."

"Four-star hotels? You know, if you weren't here I'd be sleeping in my car to save money. But I don't really want to cuddle with you in the backseat, so I guess we're stuck finding a motel!"

"Hey," he pointed at her, "Hiltons are only _three and a half_ stars, first of all. Second of all, you're the one that dragged me on this trip so we might as well use the money that I've got to make it a little more bearable!"

"This was such a bad idea," she laughed bitterly and climbed out of the car, slamming the door shut behind her.

Dick leaned back in his seat with a sigh, watching as she made her way across the small parking area of the station. She walked into the mini-mart angrily and he watched her through the windows as she wandered around pulling random items of food and drink of the shelves.

Closing his eyes, he ran a hand over his face and remained in that position for a solid five minutes. It wasn't until he heard someone scream that he opened his eyes and looked around. He noticed the bags that had dropped to the sidewalk in front of the store and then the guy that had Mac pressed up against the brick wall.

He scrambled out of the car and slammed the door shut behind him. "Hey!" he shouted. "Get off her!"

The guy turned toward him and rolled his eyes. Mac shrunk back against the wall further and snuck out from behind him. "What are you gonna do about it, surfer boy? Go home," the guy waved his hand dismissively and turned back to where she was supposed to be waiting. He glared at the empty space she had been occupying thirty seconds ago and she rushed over to Dick, wrapping her arm through his and holding on for dear life.

Dick wrapped his arm around her shoulders and steered her back toward her car, depositing her in the passenger seat before walking around the other side of the bright green beetle and climbing into the driver's seat.

He sped out of the gas station and watched through the rear view mirror as the guy glared after them and then picked up the food they left behind.

--

Pulling into the parking lot, he glanced up at the hotel and let out a sigh when she didn't protest his choice of sleeping quarters for the night. She picked at her jeans and rubbed her palms against them, almost like she was scrubbing at a stain.

"I um … back there, I …"

Dick cut her off, "You're okay?" Mac nodded in agreement and met his eyes for the first time in twenty minutes. She bit her lip and nodded again, firmer this time, and he nodded in turn. "Good," he said. "Wanna wait here while I go get a room?"

Folding her arms across her chest defensively, she replied in a small voice, "Can I come with you?"

He nodded and got out of the car, offering her his hand when she did the same. She ignored the hand and brushed past him, stopping a few feet away without turning to face him. Dick rolled his eyes and followed after her, placing a hand on her elbow as he led them into the lobby.

--

Wandering out of the bathroom, she rubbed a towel through her hair vigorously and sat down on her bed. She wrapped her robe around her body tightly and folded her legs precariously, careful not to reveal anything to him.

"So what's with the green?" he wondered aloud, lounging back on his bed and flicking on the television. Mac's eyebrows shot up until they were almost touching her hairline, and she stared at him for a moment before responding.

"What?"

"Your hair is green," he shrugged. "It was red last night, why'd you dye it?"

She gaped at him and he turned his head to look at her, raising an eyebrow. "Fuchsia," she corrected, snapping her mouth shut with a click. "And I thought it was time for a change. Why do you care?"

Dick held his hands up in surrender, an odd expression falling across his face. "Whoa, whoa," he chuckled. "No need to get all defensive. I was just curious."

"Sorry," she shook her head. "I'm just not used to you being so -" she paused "- in tune."

"Yeah, well," he shrugged and turned his attention back to the television. Mac slowly got off of her bed and wandered over to the corner of the room, pulling clothes out of her suitcase before wandering back into the bathroom to change. He shifted uncomfortably on his mattress, the thought of her naked in the next room driving him just as insane as it did when she was in the shower.

He didn't notice her when she walked back into the room, and he missed the amused smirk that spread across her features when she noticed his dazed expression. She grabbed a deck of cards off the dresser and flopped down on his bed, folding her legs underneath her and pulling the sleeves of her sweatshirt back.

He snapped out of his reverie and raised an eyebrow at her. Mac smiled softly and held up the deck of cards. "Poker?"

"I'm not having another argument with you over my money," he shook his head. She rolled her eyes and dropped the box on the mattress, pulling her hair into a low bun.

"Fine. Go Fish?"

Dick grinned and sat up, mimicking her position as he turned the television off and set the remote on the nightstand. "I haven't played Go Fish since I was like … eight," he furrowed his brow.

"Too complicated for you, Dick?"

"Shut up," he rolled his eyes and grabbed the deck from her to deal.

--

The sheets rustled against her body as she adjusted her position and he closed his eyes tightly, unwilling to be turned on by his dead little brother's ex-girlfriend. Thinking of her like that seemed to be the only way to quell his raging hormones, though, and that fact was more than a little terrifying.

"Dick?"

Her whisper snapped him out of it and he swallowed painfully before turning his head to look at her. She was facing him, propped up on her elbow with her hair falling in front of her face. He let out a breath, noticing the way the moonlight from the window behind her bed illuminated every fucking curve of her body.

"Yeah?"

Mac tucked her hair behind her ear and traced random patterns in the sheet below her. "Do you … um," she swallowed. "Do you think he's happier?"

Dick exhaled heavily. "I don't know."

"You saw him, right? After…"

"Yeah."

"Do you think it hurt?"

"Probably."

"Yeah," she nodded softly and lay back on the bed, turning away from him and effectively ending the conversation. He swallowed thickly and turned his face toward the ceiling, tracing the cracks and crevices in the plaster with a trained eye.

And he didn't say anything when he heard the distinct sounds of her crying herself to sleep, because the wetness on his cheeks would've made him a hypocrite if he did.


	3. Never Figured It Out

He woke with a jump, nearly falling out of the bed. The sheets were tangled around his legs and he was practically soaked in cold sweat, the burning image of his brother lying lifeless in the street refusing to leave his mind even after he was awake.

Shaking his head sharply to clear the visual, he realized that it was a cell phone that had woken him. After another few seconds of listening, he sighed with relief when it wasn't his phone that was alerting him to a new call.

The sound of the shower filled his ears next and he groaned when he realized Mac was already up. Climbing out of bed, he made his way over to the pile of keys and various other objects that was on the dresser. Instinctively, he picked up her phone and checked the caller id.

Logan's number flashed across the screen and he frowned as he walked the short distance to the bathroom door. Knocking loudly, he announced that Logan was calling for her. She sighed irritably and asked him to answer it, promising she would be out of the shower in just a few minutes.

So he answered the phone and the choked sound Logan made at the sound of his voice was almost enough to make him laugh. But it didn't – the confusion overrode any other emotion he could have held at that moment.

"That's where you are?" Logan exclaimed. "With Mac?"

"Dude, what the fuck? Since when are you two friends?"

"Since Veronica asked me to check on her while she's in New York," he countered. "I tried calling your cell phone like six times last night, where were you?"

Realizing that he had ignored the calls because of the Go Fish battle they had been having the night before, he shook his head and flopped back on his bed with a grunt. "Playing Go Fish."

There was a pause on the other end of the line and then Logan laughed, loudly. "Aw, dude, please tell me you got pictures."

"Shut up," Dick grumbled. "Mac suggested it."

"Yeah, you gonna explain that anytime soon? 'Cause I have to tell you, my detective skills aren't quite up to par with Veronica's."

He ran a hand over his face and sighed heavily, letting his arm flop back against the mattress. "Road trip," he said simply.

"Road trip," Logan repeated dubiously.

"Yup," Dick agreed. "Road trip."

The shower stopped running and he closed his eyes tightly, opening them again when he saw Beaver flying from the roof of the Neptune Grand. He shook his head and sat up, swallowing around the lump in his throat. Mac appeared in the room and took the phone from him, sending him a concerned smile as she spoke to his friend.

Her eyes were red-rimmed and puffy, and he noticed that her skin was the color of a freshly-picked strawberry when the sleeve of her robe slipped down her arm. Idly, he wondered how many showers she had taken that morning.

And when the thought occurred to him that she had only taken one, he frowned deeply as he considered how fucked up the situation really was.

Mac hung up her cell phone with a promise to call later that night and turned to face him. Gripping the plastic tightly, she sniffled slightly and shrugged her shoulders. "Veronica asked him to check on me."

"Yeah, he said that," Dick nodded. He gestured absently and opened his mouth to ask her what exactly she was going through, only to be cut off when she hastily set the phone on the dresser and rushed back into the bathroom.

With a sigh, he flopped back on the mattress again. He didn't close his eyes this time.

--

She rolled her eyes as she climbed into the passenger seat and slammed the door once she was in the car. Sighing, he slid into the driver's seat and turned the engine over, choosing not to comment on her choice of music when she put a Tegan and Sara CD in the player.

After ten minutes on the road and a semi-comfortable silence, she rolled her eyes again and looked over at him in exasperation. "Do you have to drive ninety miles an hour?"

"Dude," he gestured to the speedometer, "I'm only going eighty-five."

Mac groaned. "If you wreck my car, I swear to God…"

"What? You'll kill me? Like I've got anything left to live for," he retorted bitterly. Her eyes widened and she shut her mouth with a click, flushing in embarrassment.

"Don't say that," she said weakly. Dick scoffed and slowed down the car, switching lanes to get away from the semi-truck that was quickly coming up beside them. She sent him a grateful, if shocked, glance, and he leaned his elbow on the door.

"Just telling it like it is," he shrugged and rested his head on his palm. Shaking her head, she ran her palms over her eyes and leaned back against the seat.

"You know, serious Dick is something I have yet to get used to."

He turned his head to look at her and nodded a little before sitting up and turning his attention back to the freeway. "Yeah, join the club."

--

Driving off at the next exit, he glanced at her worriedly as he drove through the small town. He didn't really know where they were or where the fuck they were going, but that didn't seem to be the point. So he just drove.

She whimpered and thrashed around in her seat a little. He pulled into the parking lot of a run-down diner just as she started to cry, and his heart jump-started when she murmured his brother's name. It sounded pained, broken, and he shook her shoulder to get her to wake up.

In response, she shoved his hand away and choked on a sob, curling further into herself in the tiny seat. Dick groaned and unbuckled his seat belt, adjusting so he could reach her easier over the center console of the car.

"Mac," he whispered, shaking her slightly. "Mac, wake up, it's a dream."

Shaking her head, she responded, "No, no, no, no-"

"Come on," he sighed and shook her a little harder, repeating her name at a louder volume. Her eyes snapped open a second later and she sat up abruptly, almost causing him to lose his balance. She was breathing heavily, wiping at the tears that had fallen down her cheeks, and when he clasped her shoulder she didn't pull away.

Mac lowered her head into her hands and bit back sob after sob, her whole body shaking with the force. Hesitantly, he moved his hand to rub her back, and she inhaled sharply at the contact but made no move to push him away. Gaining confidence, he tugged on her arm a little until she sat up and faced him.

She shook her head back and forth and wiped at her eyes. The gesture was fairly ineffective due to the pace of her tears, but he furrowed his brow when she opened her mouth to speak and choked on another sob.

"Hey," he said gently, tugging on her arm again. "It was a nightmare, it's okay."

"No, it's not," she gasped and shook her head again. "Damnit, Dick, it's so fucking far from okay," she jerked the door open and climbed out of the car, pacing back and forth in the parking lot. Dick stared blankly at the empty air she had just been occupying.

After a moment, he got out of the car and leaned against the hood, trailing her movements with his eyes as she continued to go back and forth on the pavement. Shaky hands tucked her hair behind her ear and finally she stopped pacing, throwing her arms in the air, defeated.

"He's dead," she said quietly. He furrowed his brow and she folded her arms across her chest. "And he was totally fucked up and I never figured it out."

"Whoa," he shook his head. "I lived with him and I never even figured it out," he replied.

Narrowing her eyes, she bit back another sob. "Yeah, because you were so in tune with your brother," she said sarcastically. Dick pushed himself off the hood of the car and took a step closer to her.

"You don't know what the fuck you're talking about," he argued.

"Oh, please!" she scoffed, running a hand over her face to wipe away the remainder of her tears. "Cassidy told me about all of the shit you pulled!"

"The shit I pulled!"

"Mocking him constantly, parading around like the fucking cock of the walk to see if he would say anything, fighting him when he was little so he could 'toughen up,'" she air-quoted the phrase in disgust. "You were _horrible_ to him."

"Oh, shut up!" he shouted, backing away from her. "You dated for … what? Two, three months before he dumped your ass?"

Mac stepped back further from him, gaping. "At least I didn't treat him like a toy!"

"I loved my brother, so shut the fuck up because you _don't_ know what you're talking about!" he all but screamed, stumbling backward as he turned to walk away from her. His vision was blurred from the tears that were quickly gathering in his eyes and he shook his head in a vain attempt to clear them.

Dick got to the end of the parking lot and stopped suddenly, turning around slowly to face her again. She stood next to her car, arms folded across her chest, sobbing.

"If I had known about Woody, I would've, like, done something," he offered, shrugging helplessly. Mac sniffled loudly and nodded, shakily wiping away her tears. He slowly started walking back toward her, hands shoved in his pockets like Beaver used to do.

Stopping a few feet from her, he shrugged again and hastily wiped his eyes. "I would've done something."

Exhaling sharply, she walked the remaining distance between them and wrapped her arms around his neck. He froze, shocked at the action. When she tightened her arms around his neck and buried her face against his shoulder, still shaking with the force of her tears, he wrapped his arms around her waist and held on.

--

"Yes," she promised, nodding into the phone. "Everything's fine."

He tightened his grip on the steering wheel, glancing around for somewhere to stay. She sighed heavily and he looked over at her, noticing the irritated expression on her face. He frowned.

"Logan, I'm fine, and you can tell Veronica that, too."

Spotting a lit-up sign for a Marriott, he switched lanes to pull into the parking lot. Mac groaned next to him and he looked over at her again as he turned off the road. Sighing, she ran a hand through her hair and dropped her head against the window, banging it once or twice.

"I don't have to explain myself to you," she proclaimed. A pause as she listened to Logan's reply, then, "I don't know. I just don't. Look, tell Veronica I'm fine and I'll talk to one of you later, okay?" She banged her head against the window once more and said goodbye, shutting the phone off and dropping it in her lap.

Dick parked the car and sat back in the seat. The tension in the car was almost palpable, still crackling from their argument earlier that evening. Mac twisted her head to look at him and smiled a little.

"Is he always that protective?"

He shrugged, "Mostly."

Nodding, she gestured to the large hotel in front of them and unlatched her seat belt. She opened her mouth to speak, paused, and then seemingly changed her mind. Once she stepped out of the car, she dipped her head back through the door and furrowed her brow.

"You okay?"

"Guess so," he shrugged again and got out of the car, leaning against the door to close it. Mac shut her own door and walked around the front of the beetle, trailing her hand along the hood. Gripping the rear view mirror tightly, she laid her other hand on his arm and nodded toward the doors to the lobby.

"Let's get some sleep."


	4. Last One to the Pool

The mouse clicked once, twice, and then her fingers were flying over the keyboard as she stared intently at the screen. He watched her type, momentarily fascinated by the movement of her fingers on the keys. She stopped after a while and the only sound in the room was the faint hum of her laptop, accompanied by the occasional click of the mouse.

Just as he was drifting off to sleep, she started typing again. His eyes snapped open and he sat up abruptly, throwing the covers off his body and turning to face her.

"Dude, do you mind? Some of us need beauty sleep," he snapped.

Mac stopped typing and raised an eyebrow at him, the gesture illuminated by the glow of the computer screen and the moonlight shining through the curtains. Vaguely, he recognized that she had been crying again, but he couldn't find anything to say that wouldn't ruin the silence of the moment.

He started to fall asleep again as he sat there, staring at her. Finally she broke the silence with a simple, "Not tired."

"Can't you, like, count sheep or something?"

"No, Dick. Unlike some people I actually have to stimulate my brain for a certain period of time in order to be tired."

"I'll stimulate it for you," he waggled his eyebrows suggestively, though his heart wasn't in it. She scoffed and rolled her eyes, adjusting her position on the bed so that she was leaning back against the headboard.

"I'd believe that more if you weren't yawning when you said it," she smirked.

Narrowing his eyes, he laid back down as he protested, "I'm not yawning." The last word trailed off into that exact gesture and he rolled his eyes, snuggling further into the itchy, starched-white sheets.

"Okay, Dick," she shook her head and clicked the mouse a few times before shutting off her laptop and depositing it on nightstand. Pushing the covers back, she crawled under them and turned toward him.

The fact that she was trying to talk to him got lost in the sound of his snoring as he finally fell asleep.

--

Cassidy laughed, throwing his head back as he stood on the edge of the roof. Lowering it again, he grinned sardonically and raised his arms, unassuming. "What are you gonna do, Dick? Stop me?"

Attempting to swallow back the lump in his throat, he found that his mouth was suddenly dry. He started choking from his attempt and he shook his head, gripping his throat as he watched his little brother shrug his shoulders hopelessly.

"Oh well," Cassidy quirked his mouth a little and fell.

Dick woke up with a start, leaning forward and putting his head in his hands. He took deep breaths, forcing his heart rate to slow, and when he glanced at the clock he wanted to scream. It was only three in the morning – he'd been asleep for half an hour.

"Dick?"

Glancing over at her bed, he swallowed thickly at the site of her. She was disheveled, the neat ponytail she'd fallen asleep with reduced to a ratty mess. Her expression was concerned and her eyes gleamed a little in the moonlight. He shrugged helplessly and chuckled a little.

"Guess the Beaver's, like, pissed or something, huh?"

"What?"

"Why else would I keep dreaming about him? That tortured shit isn't really _me_," he cocked his head and widened his eyes at the word, gesturing absently with his hands. Mac bit the inside of her lip and nodded her agreement.

"But he _was_ your brother," she argued. "Weren't you telling me about that earlier?"

He winced and flopped back on the bed, nodding. "Fuck," he groaned and turned over, burying his face in the pillow. Throwing his arms over his head, he huffed into the cotton and squirmed until he was comfortable.

A few minutes later, the mattress sank next to him and he lifted his arm a little, cracking an eye open to find out what was going on. Mac didn't say anything as she crawled under the covers, and he resisted the urge to reach out and hold her.

--

Vaguely, he realized that someone was speaking. He murmured unintelligibly and the talking stopped, a paralyzed silence falling over the room. Shrugging in half-sleep, he rolled over and was surprised when he didn't come into contact with another body.

Dick was certain he hadn't dreamed her crawling into bed with him last night.

"Logan, he's asleep," she whispered frantically. Opening his eyes, he noticed that she had returned to her own bed, and she was holding her cell phone firmly to her ear. She rolled her eyes and shook her head as she continued to listen, an incredulous expression on her face. "Oh my God," she groaned and shook her head again.

"Dude, tell him to go fuck his girlfriend and let me sleep," Dick requested, pulling the pillow out from under his head to cover his face. Mac jumped and widened her eyes when she realized he was awake, turning her attention back to her call.

"You woke him up, you ass!"

Laughing, he held the pillow tighter to his face and listened to her side of the conversation as she grew more and more irritated. Or was she amused? Whatever, he didn't really care. Eventually she hung up and he heard the bed springs creak a little as she got off the bed.

The pillow was dragged off his face and she raised an eyebrow at him once she was visible. "Logan says hello," she flung the pillow and turned on her heel, wandering over to her suitcase and sitting down in front of it gracefully.

Mac started methodically organizing her clothing, double-checking that she had everything packed as she glanced over at the bathroom door. Dick watched her interestedly, torn between commenting on her neurotic ways and keeping his mouth shut for the sake of the silence.

And the decision was taken from him when she turned around sharply, a firm glare in place. "_What_ are you staring at?"

He jumped a little and sat up, leaning back against the headboard with a smirk. "Nothing." Mac raised an eyebrow.

"Are we back to dirty thoughts already?" she teased. "Damn, and here I thought I could avoid them for at least another week," she shook her head.

Dick raised an eyebrow and grinned. He opened his mouth to respond and she was up like a shot, rushing across the room and slamming her hand over his mouth before he could comment.

"Shut. Up," she warned. Grinning behind her palm, he kept his mouth shut when she pulled her hand away. Raising an eyebrow threateningly, she started backing toward the bathroom.

When she was out of site he started shouting off every dirty expression he could think of, and she ignored him until he heard the shower turn on through the thin walls of the room. After that, he wandered out of the room to avoid unwelcome thoughts of his dead little brother's ex-girlfriend, naked and soaking in the shower.

--

"Hey, Mac!" he shouted, turning away from the balcony railing. She looked up from her laptop and raised an eyebrow, but didn't say anything else and he grinned. "You think I can set some sort of record if I jump into the pool from here?"

Rolling her eyes, she set dropped her computer on the bed and wandered out onto the balcony, glancing down at the pool that resided ten stories below them. Nodding, she looked up at him with a smirk.

"Maybe. Assuming you survive the fall, of course," she replied. Dick pouted and ignored the undercurrent of sadness in her voice, choosing instead to focus on the topic at hand. He was so fucking tired of being depressed.

He shrugged and wandered back into the hotel room, grabbing his trunks out of his suitcase as he walked past it and headed for the bathroom. Poking his head out of the door at the last second, he grinned at her as she turned and leaned against the railing.

"Last one to the pool is totally paying for dinner tonight."

The door shut with a loud click behind him and she let out a muffled protest before stomping across the room and banging on the door. Fighting the urge to grin, he opened it and peeked his head out, raising an eyebrow in question.

Mac folded her arms across her chest irritably. "Where the hell am I supposed to change?"

"Well, it's a big bathroom," he gestured behind him invitingly. She shook her head and he could tell that she was fighting back a smile. It made his stomach, drop, a little, and what the fuck? Since when did he get nervous around chicks?

"Stay in there until I tell you to come out," she pointed into the bathroom and then grabbed the doorknob, shutting the door firmly. Dick listened as she padded quietly across the room, and the muffled sound of the top of her suitcase hitting the wall made him smirk.

A couple minutes later, he heard a zipper being undone.

And not long after that, she was knocking on the door and asking him to tie her top for her because she couldn't get a good grip on the ends. He swallowed – hard – and almost tripped over his jeans as he took them off, yanking his swim trunks up and opening the door to find her holding her top awkwardly behind her, a subconscious expression on her face.

He tried not to take advantage of the opportunity to touch her as he tied the top and raced out the door, still barefoot as he tried to get the elevator doors to close before she could get in.

"Hey!" she shouted, running into the small room before the doors could close all the way. "That is not fair," she wagged a finger at him playfully, pulling a sweatshirt over her head as they rode the elevator to the ground floor.

Dick grinned. "You're just jealous because you're slow."

--

"Ew," she scrunched up her face in distaste as she watched him eat cold chow mein out of the small cardboard box. He looked up at her in confusion.

"What?" he asked around a mouthful of food. Mac rolled her eyes and gestured to the carton, her face still scrunched up. It was kind of adorable.

"Cold chow mein? That's disgusting," she grimaced. Dick raised an eyebrow, shaking off his thoughts as he swallowed.

"Dude, have you ever _had_ cold chow mein?"

"No, and I have no intentions of trying it, either," she made a disgusted sound in the back of her throat and climbed off her bed. "You already showered, right?"

"Yeah, the water pressure _sucks_."

"Well you're just going to have to deal with it until we drive somewhere else, aren't you?" she grinned playfully and wandered into the bathroom, pulling her sweatshirt over her head and offering him a replay of the scenery he'd gotten in the pool just a little while ago.

Shrugging, he turned his attention back to his food. The water started running just as her cell phone rang and he answered it automatically, fairly certain he could deal with Logan's accusations and questions at this point.

He'd had two days of practice, after all. Why he couldn't call when she _wasn't_ in the shower, Dick wasn't sure.

"Hello?"

"If you hurt her I _will_ ruin your life," Veronica promised. Grinning, he dropped his chopsticks back in the carton and placed it on the nightstand, laying back on the bed.

"Hey, _Ronnie_, back from New York?"

There was a faint murmuring on her end and he furrowed his brow in disgust when he pulled the phone back to check the caller id. Logan's number was displayed prominently on the screen and he rolled his eyes when she giggled.

"Dude! Fucking gross, man. You couldn't wait until _after_ you were done having sex to call?"

Veronica sighed. "We're not, thank you, and I figured now was as good a time as any to warn you of the dangers of hurting Mac."

"Like I'd hurt the girl," he quirked his mouth. "My brother did enough damage as it is."

It was quiet for a few moments and then she sighed resignedly, murmuring something to herself before replying. "Promise me you will not break her, Dick. She doesn't need anyone else wrecking the pieces that are left."

He promised. Wasn't like he wanted to hurt her; when he told Veronica as much she simply warned him again and hung up.

Mac walked out of the bathroom a few minutes later and he didn't tell her about the call.


	5. And Entertain Me

He stared at her in utter confusion as she threw four jars of some random spread in the cart. Eyes not straying from the shelves, she continued down the aisle in search of whatever else was on the list in her hand, methodically furrowing her brow and pausing to read labels every now and then.

Placing his feet on the bottom rack of the cart, he leaned over until he could read the displayed label of their latest purchase. His brow furrowed, "Nutella?"

Mac turned and raised an eyebrow slowly. "You've never had Nutella?"

"What the fuck _is_ Nutella?"

"Um … the best thing ever," she shook her head. "I can't believe you've never had Nutella."

He was getting annoyed with this conversation. Purposefully avoiding the name of the jar, "Dude, that doesn't tell me anything," was his reply. She grinned.

"Patience, Dick," she shook her head and continued down the aisle, biting her lip as she crossed something off the list. When he attempted to look over her shoulder she swatted at him and stuffed it in her pocket.

She was so fucking weird.

--

He opened his eyes when he heard the splash downstairs and rolled his eyes, determined to ignore the stupid little kids whose parents were letting them play in the pool at two in the morning. Straining his ears to hear the subsequent screaming that generally went with such loud splashes of water, he was surprised when everything was silent.

"Go tell midgets one and two to go to bed," he grumbled, expecting a scoff or at least an eye roll in response. Nothing happened. Dick repeated his request, louder this time, and silence was his only reply.

Flicking the lamp on, he sat up and realized that Mac wasn't in her bed anymore. Well fuck. That made his new mission of never getting out of bed again a little difficult.

He would have to tell them to shut up himself.

That kinda sucked.

Rolling off the mattress, he caught his balance just before he hit the floor and stumbled out onto the balcony, eyes widening when he spotted her in the pool, treading water in the center of the water and staring off at nothing.

Dick contemplated calling down to her, snapping her out of it and teasing her for not waking him up to join in the fun. After a moment he decided against it and grabbed a room key off the dresser, shuffling out of the room and down the hall to the elevator.

Stabbing at the down arrow, his brow furrowed when he realized how slow the elevators were. It was like a conversation with Madison, almost. His brow furrowed more and he pushed the button again.

The doors opened a second later and he grinned triumphantly, stepping into the small room and leaning back against the wall as he waited for the doors to open into the lobby. He was almost asleep by the time the bell above the doors dinged and he jerked himself awake, ambling into the lobby and toward the pool with a slow, stumbling gait.

Once he was outside the cool air of the too-early-morning hit him and he rubbed his eyes to clear the sleep from them as he walked around the hot tub to get to the pool.

She hadn't moved in the last five minutes.

Rolling his eyes, he called her name and got no response. He furrowed his brow. "Mac," he repeated, louder this time. Getting louder each time, he said her name at least five or six times before she finally looked up at him.

"I thought you were sleeping," she said in confusion, idly trying to cover her body with her hands. Dick rolled his eyes again.

"And miss out on the naughty, wet, night-time fun?" he grinned. "Not a chance." He eyed her appreciatively, dropping down on the side of the pool and letting his feet float in the water.

Mac blushed a little under his scrutiny and rolled her eyes at the double meaning. "Well, I couldn't sleep before, but now …"

"You're too hot and bothered to even consider it?"

"Is there a reason you're such an ass?"

"Is there a reason you keep asking me that?"

She swam closer to him and treaded water once she was a few feet from him, raising an eyebrow in question. When she remained silent he sighed resignedly. "Just who I am," he shrugged. "Gonna judge me now, Mackey?"

"Don't call me that."

"Why not?"

"It's irritating," she scrunched up her nose. "And disgusting. Not to mention annoying, over-used, stupid,-"

"Fine," he shook his head in amusement. "_Mac_," he corrected himself. Giving him her nod of approval, she started backing away from him again, returning to her original post. "Dude, where are you going?"

"Swimming," she answered, bored.

Dick huffed and folded his arms across his chest. She was being boring. He hated it when she did that. "Tease," he shook his head.

Mac raised an eyebrow and remained silent.

It kind of pissed him off.

Elaborating, "Out here in the middle of the damn night, practically naked, and refusing to let me join in. Tease," he explained.

She blushed again and he smirked. "Go eat some more Nutella and let me be …" she waved her hands in the air absently, "alone," she decided. He frowned mightily at that.

"You know, my mother always said it's not good to swim without a buddy."

"I promise not to go all Ophelia on you," she grinned.

He blinked. "Who?"

"Nevermind," she rolled her eyes and swept her hand over her head, clearly amused. Starting to pout again, he lay back on the pool deck and drummed his fingers on his stomach.

And he remained totally silent, listening to the quiet splashes she made as she continued to tread water and swim around. When wrinkled fingers closed around his ankles and pulled him into the chlorine, he cursed and squeezed his eyes shut tight.

He surfaced, sputtering, and pushed the shaggy blonde strands of his hair out of his face, simultaneously dropping his jaw and staring at her incredulously.

Dude, he was in his _pajamas_.

"What the fuck?"

"You did ask if you could swim with me," she reminded, a smug grin on her face.

"Not in my pajamas!"

"Cry about it," she shrugged and backed away from him a bit. "It's your own fault for coming down here in flannel."

His only response was to gawk at her.

Shrugging again, she stretched out until she was floating on her back, her attention focused on the few stars that were shining in the sky. Occasionally she would glance at the roof of the hotel, a glazed-over look in her eyes, before snapping her gaze back to the sky. When this happened for the third time he rolled his eyes and sent a mass of water over her.

Mac hastily swam away from him, planting her feet firmly in the shallow end of the pool with a glare on her face. "Do you _mind_?"

"No," he shrugged, grinning. "Do you?"

Dick edged closer to her, receiving a handful of water in the mouth when he opened it to talk to her. He choked and retaliated, sending them both into an insane war as they attempted to give as good as they got.

Eventually the sound of her laughing broke through the sound of water slapping his skin and he started, realizing that he was laughing too. He only laughed harder when he noticed how haphazard her hair had become in the last five minutes, strewn across her face in various chunks of green and black.

She flicked a small amount of water at him and stuck out her tongue as her giggles died down, leaving a small smile on her face. When he realized how close they'd gotten to each other during the frantic splashing of just a moment ago, he didn't think before he grasped her to him in a tight hug.

And when she sighed against his neck, he pinched her side and made her squeal.

It was kind of adorable.

--

Prodding her lightly with her cell phone, he attempted to wake her up so that he didn't have to answer the vibrating, ringing plastic thing. Veronica had suddenly become very scary and Logan was, like, being lame.

Mac groaned and swatted at him, tugging at her pillow until it was covering her head and her face was buried in the mattress. She mumbled something unintelligible and he blinked at her prone, sleeping form.

"_What_?" he blinked again, confused as all hell.

She mumbled again and squirmed under the covers, causing her sweatshirt to ride up her back a little. He trained his eyes away from the patch of bare skin and dropped her phone on her back, sitting back on his own bed and bouncing a bit.

The phone vibrated and she squealed, turning over and pulling out from underneath her hastily. Answering groggily, she pulled her pillow back over her head and the rest of the conversation was lost to him as she spoke into the cotton.

Lame.

Dick rolled his eyes and flopped back on the bed, spreading his arms and folding his hands back under his head. He quirked his mouth a little and creased his forehead as he traced the cracks in the ceiling, idly scuffing his feet on the carpet.

A pillow sailed through the air and landed just shy of his head.

Frowning, he adjusted so he could see her. "What was that for?"

"I've decided something," Mac smiled, nodding her head. He raised an eyebrow and she continued to stare at him. His eyebrow rose further.

"Are you gonna, like, tell me?"

"I never want to leave this bed. Ever. It's too comfortable."

"Wanna trade? Mine's too fucking hard," he complained, rocking back and forth on the mattress in a mock-attempt to get comfortable.

Mac pursed her lips together and nodded to herself, mumbling, "Not even gonna go there."

He raised an eyebrow and she burrowed back under the covers, ignoring him when he accused her of living in the gutter. The only response he got was a faint giggle before the room went silent and she fell asleep again.

And it was totally boring.

So he pushed himself off his bed and climbed onto hers, pacing up and down the mattress until she acknowledged him. When she did, he started jumping up and down, determined to make her wake up and make her entertain him before they left for another town.

Peeking out from under the covers, she narrowed her eyes at him and he grinned, pausing in his bouncing to coax her awake verbally. "I'm bored," he complained, nearly pouting. Mac rolled her eyes and pushed the covers further down, tucking her hair behind her ears.

"Go back to bed," she offered, rolling over so that her back was facing him.

"My mattress sucks," he reminded her.

She groaned, "Then sleep in mine! I don't care! Just let me _sleep_."

Dick shrugged and bounced once more before dropping down on his ass, crawling under the covers next to her and folding his hands behind his head, closing his eyes lightly when the ceiling became too stupid to contemplate anymore.

When he woke up an hour and a half later, her head was resting on his shoulder and his arm was encircling her back.


	6. Two Words: Ball Pit

Pressing his forehead against the glass, he took a deep breath and tried to ignore the incredibly annoying headache he'd gotten in the last half hour. When that didn't work, he banged his head once or twice to make it worse.

Maybe if he passed out he wouldn't have to listen to this crap anymore.

Dick turned his attention to the stereo and narrowed his eyes when a new song came on, blasting painfully-mellow music from the speakers. He looked up at Mac – singing quietly in the driver's seat as she kept her eyes focused on the freeway – and seriously considered strangling her just to make the torture end.

Eventually he got fed up with the omg-let's-be-emo-lyrics and hit the eject button on the stereo, pulling the CD out of the slot and all but flinging it out the window once he had it rolled down. With a relieved sigh, he sank back in the seat and reveled in the quiet.

And then she smacked him across the back of the head and he cried out in pain.

"What the hell? Do you know how _long_ it took me to find a copy of that!"

He blinked and then shook his head, eyes widening as she gaped at him. "Dude, if you weren't suicidal already that shit will make you fly off the handle just to make it end!"

Mac froze momentarily, turning her attention back to the road, and he closed his eyes tightly, pained. After a second he reached under the seat and pulled her CD case off the floor, tugging the zipper open and flipping through the pages in boredom.

Pausing when he saw the name of the band written out on the disc, he grinned and held it up, ignoring the glare it made on the roof as the sun hit it. Mac bit back a smirk and he grinned again, slipping it into the stereo and tossing the case into the backseat.

She blushed when he skipped to the almost-worn-out track and he couldn't help but leer at her as the song blasted through the speakers. Rolling her eyes, she pointedly ignored him when he drummed his fingers against the door handle and stared at her.

Dude. He was so buying this CD when they got home.

--

He blinked and held up the CD, inspecting it in the sunlight. She eyed him warily, her fingers twitching in her lap as he held it further in the air. It teetered dangerously in his hand from the pressure of the wind and she cringed.

"If you throw another disc out of this car, I swear to-"

"Relax, Mac," he rolled his eyes and slipped the disc into the stereo dramatically. "I won't hurt your precious babies."

She raised an eyebrow at him, leaning her head back against the seat with a sigh. He couldn't tell if it was relieved or what, but her hair was whipping in front of her face and he really didn't care. Glancing over at him, she grinned a little and jerked her head toward the stereo.

"Billy Talent? Seriously?"

Dick grinned. "It's like the only not-emo-chick thing you've got in here."

"Emo chick? Hardly," Mac countered.

"Like everything in here," he waved the case around, "Has death in the name. Or the title or whatever. Emo!"

"Oh my God," she rolled her eyes and laughed, leaning her head back against the seat again. "I won't even comment on your choice of music."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Up-chuck the boogie?" He stared at her blankly and she laughed again, looking over her shoulder as she switched lanes to make the next exit. "Yeah, Veronica told me about that."

His mouth opened, staying that way for a moment before snapping shut with a click. For once he had no response. Mac grinned and pulled off the freeway, glancing around the small town they'd driven to in interest.

"What are you doing?" he wondered.

"Looking for someplace to eat," she replied. "Unless, of course, you'd rather live on Pop-Tarts and Ritz for the rest of the trip."

"Nah," he shook his head. "They'd probably get boring after a while."

Mac snickered, tugging her cell phone out of her pocket when it rang and answering cheerfully, ignoring him as he tried to distract her from the call. Her smile fell a bit and then she frowned as she listened.

And why the fuck did she keep refusing to use her speakerphone? Lame.

"Yeah, okay, Mom," she nodded and pulled into the parking lot of a McDonald's, turning the car off and slumping back in her seat. Dick frowned, wondering why the hell she sounded so irritated.

"Okay," Mac agreed. "I'll talk to you later," she promised, finishing the call with a quiet goodbye. She hung up the phone and dropped it in her lap, working her jaw in a blatant attempt to keep her control.

It was kind of hot.

Intrigued, he rested his hand over hers and she looked over at him, exhaling sharply. He raised an eyebrow and remained silent, then looked at the building they were parked in front of.

"Finally decided to join the meat-eating population?"

Her laugh made him smile and she snorted quietly as she tried to stop giggling.

--

The plastic was cold against his cheek and he bit back a yelp as he jumped away from it. Crossing her arms, she shook her head in amusement and tried not to smile at his antics. He stepped closer to her and held out his arms in a vague gesture, nodding behind him at the play-place.

"No," she shook her head. "No way."

"Oh, come on!" he coaxed. "Dude, it's not like anyone's here. I think we managed to find the only deserted McDonald's on the friggin planet."

"And you should take advantage of that," she agreed.

"Yes!" Dick grinned. "So, like, what do you wanna do first?"

"Me?" Mac pressed a hand to her chest and looked around at the empty room, glancing back at him with a smile. "You can't possibly be referring to me."

"Dude! Two words," he held up two fingers and looked at her seriously. "Ball. Pit."

"No. Way," she mocked him. Rolling his eyes, he shrugged and started backing toward the play-place, an innocent expression on his face. Just because she was being lame didn't mean he couldn't have some fun.

Smiling, she turned around and headed for one of the various tables that were placed on the other side of the room, shaking her head slightly. He stopped walking suddenly and grinned, rushing forward and picking her up, swinging her over his shoulder as she screamed.

"Put me down," she commanded, her hands clutching tightly to his t-shirt. "Dick, damnit, _put me down_!"

"Nope," he shook his head, tightening his grip on her thighs as she continued to hang over his shoulder. "Not until you stop being dumb and play with me."

"That is wrong on so many levels," she commented.

"Well if you'd rather skip the balls and go straight for the bed…"

Mac swatted at his back, screeching in annoyance. "Perv," she muttered. Dick grinned and patted her ass with his free hand, adjusting his hold on her as he stopped in front of the entrance to the ball pit.

He continued to stand there, waiting for her to give in, and she continued to be stubborn just because she could.

"I am going to kick your ass," she promised, kicking her legs absently. His grip tightened more and he laughed, amused at her attempts to make him put her down.

"You can't do that unless I put you down."

"Right; so put me down," she agreed.

"Not until you stop being lame," he countered.

"You suck."

"Huh. I thought that was your-"

"Okay! Put me down and I'll play in the damn ball pit with you!"

Grinning triumphantly, he set her on her feet and reached out to steady her as all the blood rushed from her head. She glared at him and moved to brush past him. He wrapped his arm around her waist to keep her from going any further and she huffed in annoyance.

"Dude, I will _so _pick you up again if I have to."

"Oh, like you aren't just trying to cop a feel," she rolled her eyes. Dick shrugged and she stared at him seriously for a moment, a smile breaking out across her face after a second. Reddening, she pushed at his chest and turned, crawling into the ball pit gracefully.

When he stepped through the small entrance and all but leaped in next to her, she squealed and flung a few of the balls at his head, laughing brightly when none of them hit their target. He tickled her in retaliation and she squirmed against his hands but didn't make a move to stop him until she couldn't breathe anymore.

--

The dude stumbled out of the room and right into him, apologizing profusely as he backed up and retreated down the hallway, disappearing into another room a moment later. Dick furrowed his brow and dropped his jaw a little when a half-naked woman left the room he was standing in front of, sending him a sweet smile and a wink before she wandered off in the direction of the other guy.

Mac snorted next to him and he turned to look at her, brow still furrowed.

"Don't tell me you're actually interested in," she gestured to the woman, "_That_."

"Jealous?"

"Yeah, because all of my wildest fantasies are about _you_, Dick," she rolled her eyes. The way she said it made him grin a little and he shrugged, backing up in the direction of their room.

"Knew you couldn't resist me," he grinned and dropped her bag in front of the door, sliding the key into the lock and flinging the door open with a flourish.

His jaw dropped open when he walked into the room.

One bed.

Fuck. And another one for good measure.

Dropping down onto the mattress, she shook her head as she folded her hands across her stomach. "At least I'm not the one who didn't ask for a room with two beds."

"They should've figured it out!"

"Dick," she said patiently, turning her head to look at him. "Girl," she pointed at herself, "Boy," she pointed at him and then gestured around the room, "Hotel room. They _did_ figure it out. Or at least they figured normal girl-boy-hotel room pairings out."

He blinked and then shook his head. He didn't, like, care.

"Whatever," he rolled his eyes and flung his bag into the corner, throwing hers with it and flopping down on the bed next to her. She tensed, slightly, and he scooted closer to her on the mattress as they stared silently at the ceiling.

Looking over at him, she giggled slightly and adjusted so that she was on her side, her head propped up on her elbow. Dick raised an eyebrow at the ceiling plaster. Mac leaned a little closer to him, her breath hot against his cheek, and he swallowed – hard – to clear the sudden lump in his throat.

"Order dinner while I call Veronica," she whispered, grinning as she jumped off the bed and walked out onto the balcony, her cell phone already pressed to her ear.

Watching her until she shut the sliding glass door behind her, he let his head flop back on the bed with a resounding thump.

She was such a fucking tease.

--

A small chunk of fortune cookie went flying through the air and he dodged it carefully, ducking out of the way of another chunk just after that. He glared at her and she smiled innocently, reading her fortune out loud.

"You will find comfort in the small things," she nodded, holding the tiny piece of paper in front of her face.

"In bed," Dick smirked. Mac rolled her eyes and balled the paper up, tossing it at him as she picked at the vegetable fried rice in front of her.

"You have the mentality of an eight-year-old," she commented.

"Better than yesterday," he grinned. "Yesterday you said I was five."

"Yeah, well," she laughed lightly, taking another bite of her food. Her tongue ran along the seam of her mouth, wiping away any remaining remnants of her dinner and she set the carton on the floor decisively, closing the lid and taking a sip of her water.

Dude, it was like torture to watch her like this.

Tossing his fork into his own carton, he stood and stretched, running his hands through his hair idly. Mac looked up at him and he held a hand out, raising an eyebrow. She grinned and placed her hand in his, letting him pull her to her feet and being careful to avoid the various items that were spread over the carpet.

"Helping girls up, paying for dinner," she shook her head in amusement. "If I didn't know any better I'd say you were becoming a gentleman, Dick!"

"Don't spread that around," he pointed at her and grinned. "It'll ruin my reputation."

"Your reputation as a man slut?" she wondered, sitting down on the edge of the bed. "And here I thought that was a _bad_ reputation to have," she grinned. He rolled his eyes.

"I'll be your man-slut," he leered.

She smiled, "I'm afraid I can't afford the cost of such high-profile entertainment."

Realizing the implication of what she'd said, she immediately reddened and looked at her lap, folding and unfolding her hands nervously. Dick stared at her, stepping closer to the bed and drawing her attention.

Mac looked up at him and he smirked a little, stopping a few feet in front of her with his arms folded across his chest. He resisted the urge to comment, instead glancing over at his suitcase before looking back at her.

"So, like, race you to the pool?"


	7. Purple

She yawned and sat down on the edge of the pool, the cold texture of the cement making her jump when it pressed against her skin. Shaking her head, she pushed her hair behind her ears and tucked her toes into the water, tracing designs in the chlorine.

Yawning, he sat down next to her and chuckled lightly. Mac rolled her head to the side to glare at him and he laughed a little more, shaking his head.

"Dude, I think the walls were about to cave in," he laughed harder. Rolling her eyes again, she fought back the smile that he could see was begging to spread across her face.

"This is so not funny," she chastised weakly. Dick scoffed and shoved her playfully.

"You've gotta admit it's a little funny."

Remaining silent, she smiled and kicked her feet in the water, following the movement with her eyes. Frowning, he reached out and tugged on a strand of her hair. He twined his fingers in the faint traces of color and she turned to look at him, subtlety forcing him to let go.

"The green's gone."

"Yeah," she nodded, "Faded with the chlorine and stuff. Semi-permanent dye and odd, pool-cleaning chemicals do not mix well," she smirked.

"You gonna re-dye it?"

She shrugged cutely and bit her bottom lip. "Most likely. Why?"

Dick gestured toward the building behind them and grinned a little. "Since I don't see our dear neighbors stopping their sexcapades before dawn, we might as well do something to pass the time."

"Like?"

"Go to the drug store down the street and pick a new color?"

"Shopping with Dick Casablancas…" she trailed off with a grin, shrugging lightly. "Sure." Mac stood and held out her hand to help him up. Grasping her hand tightly in his, he tugged until she was sprawled out on the cement next to him again. She glared.

"Might as well finish the job," he fingered the bleached-out strands of her hair again and grinned as he shoved her into the pool.

When she surfaced, she screeched at him in annoyance and he held a finger to his lips, reprimanding her quietly, "It's two in the morning. Do you really want to wake up the entire hotel?"

"Oh my God," she laughed and threw her head back, pushing her hair off her face as she continued to tread water. "Dick, I'm in my _pajamas_."

"Just like I was the other night," he nodded and stood, stripping off his shirt and tossing it off to the side. "So that makes us, like, totally even."

Jumping into the pool, he surfaced only to have her start splashing him before he could clear the water out of his eyes. It was obnoxious. But he splashed back, flailing his hands in the water like a spaz, growing tired eventually and giving up about the same time she did.

"Next time you push me into a pool, make sure I'm not wearing white," she requested, her arms folded protectively across her chest. Dick frowned mightily, glancing from her to the shirt lying on the deck and back to her.

"Um," he scratched his head, "You can wear mine if you'd rather."

Mac rocked back on her heels a bit, almost losing her balance. She nodded finally and swam to the edge of the pool precariously, pushing herself up onto the deck and slipping the shirt over her head.

A moment later she stood and wrung out her hair, smiling brightly at him. "Are we leaving some time this century?" she teased.

"Dude, we're both soaked."

"So we'll go back to the room and change first," she shrugged and rested her hands on her hips. "This was _your_ idea, you know," she raised an eyebrow pointedly. He ran his hand through his hair and swallowed, nodding in agreement.

Eventually he looked away from her in favor of swimming toward the side of the pool.

Watching her stand there all pissed off and _wearing his shirt_ was too much torture.

Especially at two in the fucking morning.

He kind of hated that she could do this to him.

--

She laughed and tugged on his hand, whispering as they made their way through the aisles. Dick stumbled after her, running his hand through his hair as they walked past shelf after shelf of hair dye.

Dude, there were like thirty shades of blonde. How the fuck was he supposed to tell the difference? Blonde was blonde. The end.

Mac came to a stop in front of a small shelf and he nearly ran into her. Dropping his hand, she shrugged her shoulders and shoved her hands into the pockets of her sweatshirt – his sweatshirt, because she decided to be annoying and steal it – with a smile.

"Wanna help me pick?"

He blinked at her for a moment and then shrugged as he turned his attention to the shelf.

"Green again?"

"Uh-uh," she shook her head. "I don't do the same color twice."

"Twice in a row or just twice? 'Cause, like, I don't think you can dye your hair every shade of the rainbow only once."

"Twice in a row," she laughed and looked over his shoulder at the cashier at the front of the store. Dick knew he was still sleeping, he didn't feel the urge to confirm it.

"Mmk," he nodded and picked up a box, tossing it in the air slightly. "Purple?"

She scrunched up her nose and shook her head. "Too common."

Furrowing his brow, he turned to look at her again as he set the box back on the shelf. "Dude, where have you ever seen someone with purple hair?"

"I live in Southern California," she replied, shrugging. He blinked.

He swore she was the most confusing person he'd ever met. God.

"Blue?"

"I had blue all last year," she shook her head and picked up an orange bottle, turning toward him with a grin. "Orange?"

"So the goal is to look like a Halloween banner?"

"Oh my God," she laughed quietly and shook her head.

"Red?"

"Boring."

"Yellow?"

"Too bright."

"It was neon green a few days ago."

"So?"

"Yellow is, like, half as bright as neon green."

"No it's not."

Dick rolled his eyes and backed up, lifting his hands in the air in defeat. "Fine," he laughed and continued to walk backwards down the aisle. "You pick a color and come find me when you're done."

He wasn't going to argue with her over what crayon her head should resemble this week.

--

Flicking another ball of paper, he snickered quietly when it landed in the guy's pocket. A second later Mac appeared behind him and he jumped slightly, sending another ball flying without pretense. She narrowed her eyes and folded her arms over her chest.

"What are you doing?"

"Target practice," he grinned and gestured toward the cashier. "Dude hasn't moved since we came in here an hour ago."

Rolling her eyes, "We've only been here ten minutes."

"So I embellished," he shrugged, "Sue me."

"Been practicing those vocabulary words I gave you?" she teased, an affectionate lull in her voice. Dick swallowed and grinned a little, taking the box from her and scanning it with interest.

Purple.

She totally said that was a lame color!

"I thought purple was boring?"

"It was my only option. Not such a great selection here," she shrugged and took the box back, brushing past him and speaking loudly to get the cashier's attention. The guy jerked awake and blinked at her for a moment before widening his eyes and jumping to his feet.

Dick wandered up behind her and brushed his hand across the small of her back. He leaned against the counter so that he was facing her and she stared at him, lips pursed. The guy yawned hugely and told her the price, accepting her money with a lazy hand and nearly dropping her change.

Yeah, that was kind of how Dick felt around her, too.

"You have a nice night," the guy offered with a smile, glancing warily at Dick, then turning his attention to Mac and widening his grin.

"Thanks, you too," she replied politely, grabbing her bag off the counter and heading for the door. Dick followed after her, hands shoved in his pockets. When they reached the parking lot he resisted the urge to grab her and press her against the damn telephone pole.

He had a feeling that probably wouldn't go over too well.

--

Throwing his arms over his head, he did his best to ignore the banging on the wall and the distinct cries the people next door were making. He almost wanted to laugh, but he was too tired and too disgusted to do anything but groan and bury his head further into the pillow.

Just as he was about to give up and go back down to the pool, the shower stopped running and the banging got quieter as a consequence. He was probably going insane.

No. He was going insane. There was no other explanation.

Mac walked out of the bathroom a few minutes later. She was dressed, drying her hair vigorously with a towel. Dick turned his head to look at her and she paused, scrunching up her nose as she listened to the people next door.

"That is so disgusting," she commented, shuddering.

"It's nature, dude. Don't you watch the Discovery Channel?"

"They document business men and their whores?"

Dick snickered and flipped over onto his back as she walked closer to the bed, flicking on the lamps so there was some light in the room. His hand twitched on his stomach when she sat down on the other side of the mattress and yup – he was totally crazy.

It was official, because _dude_. Dick Casablancas was not a spaz around chicks.

"So, what do you think?" she smiled and sat in front of him, running her hands through her newly-colored hair. He sat up slowly and watched as she pulled her hair in front of her shoulders, her fingers precariously twisting in between the strands. He reached out to touch a strand, inspect it a little closer, when the banging grew louder and the wall behind the bed started to shake.

Mac bit back a laugh and he turned, slamming his fist into the wall a few times. The shaking stopped for a few moments and all other noises ceased for a while. Dick sighed and reached his hand out again, smiling at her.

And then the banging continued. Screams accompanied it this time and she burst out laughing, leaning against him for support as giggles continuously erupted from her throat.

Dick rolled his eyes and wrapped an arm around her shaking form, laughing along with her as he leaned back against the headboard. Crawling up until she was resting against him, she buried her face against his neck and fought to contain her mirth.

The screams ceased and the banging followed suit a moment later.

She looked up at him, still laughing, and he tangled his hand in her hair with no impediments this time. Stretching it across his fingers, he smiled as he appraised it, twirling the damp strands around with a nod.

"Purple is so not lame," he grinned.

"I said it was too common," she corrected. Shrugging, he loosened his grip on her and allowed her to sit up, moving with her as he continued to stroke her hair. She shivered slightly and gripped his wrist, locking eyes with him as the walls started to shake again.

He didn't notice. For once.

"Oh my God," she rolled her eyes and tilted her head back in exasperation. "Aren't they tired yet? They've been going at it all night!"

When she tilted her head back down he leaned in and pressed his mouth to hers, catching her gasp on his tongue. Mac tentatively pressed the tip of her tongue to his, and he slid his fingers into the hair at the nape of her neck as she sat up on her knees, pushing him back against the bed. Her hands were fisted in his shirt and her hair fell forward, dripping water onto his cheeks as he fell back against the pillow.

And _fuck_, but this was not the way he thought it would feel.

Dick kept his hands in her hair, letting her control the pace of the kiss as she lay down next to him, pulling away for a desperate gasp of air. Maneuvering onto his side, he dipped down and kissed her again and she nipped at his bottom lip lightly.

It felt better. _Way_ better.

"Mac," he groaned and pulled back, resting his forehead against hers as the bed started vibrating from the force of the walls shaking. She gasped again, attempting to catch her breath. Wrapping her arms around his neck, she trailed sensibly-clipped nails down his spine and kissed him again.

"Don't explain."

And he didn't.


	8. Missed It

The tinny sound of a ringtone permeated the silence and he groaned, burying himself further under the covers as the phone continued to ring. He reached a hand out and poked her in the side, cracking an eye open to perfect his aim. Mumbling incoherently, she rolled over to face him and opened her eyes slowly.

"You're doing that thing again," she sighed and closed her eyes again, yanking the comforter up over her head. Dick blinked and rubbed a hand across his eyes, simultaneously scooting closer to her on the mattress.

"Thing?"

"That thing where you refuse to let me sleep," her reply was muffled by the scratchy cotton. "So stop it."

"Your phone is ringing," he countered, furrowing his brow with a yawn.

"That's nice," Mac laughed sleepily and shifted closer to him, pulling the blankets further over her head. They trailed further up his body as a consequence. "Answer it, then."

"I'm tired," he pointed out.

"So am I!"

A second later the phone stopped ringing and Dick rolled his eyes, reaching out for her under the covers. Typical. He totally could have made her answer it and gone back to bed. But no, it had to stop ringing. Rolling his eyes again, he curled his hand around her waist and tugged her closer to him.

"Tickle me and die," Mac warned, pulling the blankets away from her face. He chuckled and pressed a lazy kiss to her mouth, shaking his head against the pillow as she settled under his arm.

She ran her fingers up his forearm, smiling slightly against her exhaustion. "Hey," she smiled wider and nudged closer to him, letting him mold their bodies together under the covers.

And she curved in _all_ the right places. Damn.

"What time is it?" he yawned and let his eyes fall shut again. Mac shrugged.

"Early," she returned.

"Why hasn't your phone, like, died yet?"

"Because I brought my charger with me," she laughed. Her breath was hot against his neck and he groaned inwardly. Somehow this was worse than the not-being-allowed-to-touch-her thing.

Dick cracked an eye open and glared at her haphazardly. "If you were a guy I would totally kick your ass right now."

"Good thing I have boobs then," she rolled her eyes and then closed them, tucking her hand beneath the pillow as she started to drift off again. He watched her for a moment and then sighed, pressing a kiss to her cheek before following suit.

Her phone rang again and his eyes snapped open in irritation.

Dude. What. The. Fuck.

Mac mumbled unintelligibly and pushed at his shoulder, rolling over so that her back was facing him. "Go answer it," she demanded, waving her hand absently in the direction of the noise. He gawked at her and she rolled onto her back, cocking an eyebrow impatiently. "Please? It's probably Logan with my warning for the day," she smiled.

Grumbling, he climbed out of the bed and snatched her cell phone off the dresser and slumped down to the floor, too tired to make it back to bed. "Dude, it's like … dawn," he answered.

"Dude, I don't know where you are but it's almost ten here," Logan countered.

Furrowing his brow, Dick lowered the phone slightly and looked over at Mac. "Dude, where are we?"

"Northern California," she replied. "So no, there is no time difference," she grinned and propped herself up on her elbow. He rolled his eyes and turned his attention back to the call.

"What's up?"

Logan sighed and the muffled sound of voices filled the line, most sounding confused and others sounding genuinely perturbed. "I know Mac didn't want to be here for it, but I figured I should let you know that you guys missed Beaver's funeral."

He froze. Like, he swore his heart stopped beating for a minute.

Glancing at Mac again, he opened his mouth to respond when Logan went on, "Closed casket, of course. I think Veronica broke one of my fingers because she was holding my hand so tight," he chuckled, but the sound was forced. "Your mom called and said to give you her condolences. She said she misses you."

"Yeah," Dick nodded and ran a hand through his hair. "Where are you?"

"The reception," Logan sighed again. "Everyone was wondering where you were."

"What'd you say?"

"That you're dealing with it elsewhere."

Dick swallowed thickly and nodded again, letting his head fall back against the wall. When he looked up at the bed again Mac was lying on her back, tracing designs in the ceiling with her eyes. He had a feeling she knew what the phone call was about.

It pissed him off that she hadn't told him. Warned him. Whatever.

"Look, I gotta go, Veronica wants to leave. I'll talk to you later," Logan offered.

"Yeah. Later, man," Dick hung up and dropped the phone on the floor, twiddling his thumbs in his lap for a moment. Mac remained silent and he stood suddenly, walking over and dropping down on the edge of the bed.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you," she said quietly.

"Why didn't you wanna be there?"

"What?" She adjusted so she could see him and furrowed her brow in confusion. He rolled his eyes and stood again, gesturing vaguely.

"Logan said you didn't want to be there. Why?"

"It didn't feel right," she shrugged awkwardly and threw the covers off her body, stepping out of the bed and standing on the other side of it. She folded her arms across her chest defensively.

"It didn't feel right?" he repeated, raising an eyebrow. "What the fuck does _that_ mean?"

Mac rolled her eyes and threw her arms in the air, exasperated. "It means I didn't want to go! Are you seriously going to make me explain this to you!"

"Dude, you made me miss my _brother's funeral_!"

"And it never occurred to you that there _would_ be a funeral?" she countered. "You came on this trip with me when you _knew_ they were going to bury him some time this week," she proclaimed. "This is _not_ my fault."

Whatever.

He shook his head and grabbed a room key off the dresser, walking out of the room without another word. The door shut loudly behind him and he vaguely heard her scream in frustration before he wandered down the hallway to the elevator.

The door opened again behind him and he cursed under his breath.

"Dick!"

Stopping his retreat, he remained frozen in the hallway and refused to turn around, even when he heard her padding toward him on the plush green carpet. A moment later she was standing in front of him, her bottom lip quivering from the effort to hold in her tears.

It made him want to hold her.

"I didn't do this to hurt you," she promised. "I did it because I couldn't be there when they buried him. I couldn't…" she trailed off on a pained gasp.

"Why?"

Mac looked up at him and shrugged helplessly, laughing without mirth. No other reply came and he nodded, brushing past her to push the down button on the elevator. If she wasn't going to talk he wasn't going to make her.

But that didn't mean he could sit there in silence, either.

The elevator doors opened and he stepped inside the tiny room, shaking his head when she moved to follow him. Crossing her arms in front of her chest, she bit her lip as a sob wracked her frame. Dick shrugged and smirked a little, pressing the button for the lobby and closing his eyes while he waited for the thing to start moving.

By the time the doors closed she was crying full-out, and _fuck_ he wanted to fix her.

--

The dude at the liquor store down the street wouldn't accept his fake ID and he cursed under his breath as he left the small store, clutching Mac's keys protectively in his fist. Slipping back into the car, he looked down and noticed that he was still in his pajamas.

Boxers. What-the-fuck-ever.

He drove around the block about fifty times before he finally got the balls to park the car in the garage and go back up to the room. She was in the shower when he opened the door and he leaned against it, resisting the urge to burst into the bathroom and apologize until she let him join her.

Fortunately the water stopped running before he could get the energy to push himself off the wall.

Or maybe unfortunately.

Dude, this chick was going to kill him. Seriously.

He flopped down on the bed just as the door to the bathroom opened and she froze in the doorway, clouds of steam pillowing around her. Her skin was red – brighter than usual – and he frowned at the puffiness of her eyes.

Mac offered him a small smile and walked around the bed to get to her suitcase, brushing just close enough to the mattress for him to grab her wrist. She tensed and tried to jerk her wrist away, only to have him sit up and yank her into his lap.

"Hey!" she protested, squirming in his lap. Dick fought to keep control of himself and wrapped his arms around her waist, stilling her.

"Dude, stop," he laughed.

She huffed and stopped struggling, folding her arms over her chest with a defeated pout. He grinned and ran his hand through her wet hair, tucking it behind her ear gently. "I missed Beaver's funeral," he said quietly, regretfully. Mac nodded a little and looked down at her lap.

"I'm sorry," she offered.

He shrugged, "Whatever."

Rolling her eyes, "Don't do that. You wanted to be there."

"Closed casket," he replied. "Not like I could've really said goodbye without seeing the little shit."

"I'm still sorry," she said firmly, raising her eyes to meet his. She wasn't crying, but he knew she had been, and he shrugged as he ran his hand through her hair again.

It was impossible to tell the purple from the black when it was wet.

Leaning in, he pressed his mouth against hers lightly and she jerked back, stumbling out of his lap and off the bed. Standing at the edge of it, she shook her head and folded her arms more tightly. "Don't do that."

Huh?

"Don't kiss you?"

"Don't _pity_ me," she corrected. "I don't want you to kiss me to make me feel better, Dick."

That was _so not_ why he was kissing her.

Dick crawled to the edge of the bed and stood, tangling his hands in her hair and kissing her again, letting his tongue trip across the seam of her mouth. She gasped and he invaded her mouth, wrapping an arm around her waist to pull her closer. The fact that her arms were still crossed impeded his mission and he rolled his eyes beneath their lids, gently untangling his hand from her hair and pushing his fingers between hers, forcing her to drop her arms.

Once she did, she wrapped them around his neck, letting him pull her onto the bed with him as he fell backwards. They hit the mattress with a resounding thump and he laughed against her mouth while she attempted to regain her balance.

"Mac," he groaned into her mouth and pulled away from her, cupping her cheeks in his hands. "Pity is so _not_ my thing."

Her laugh echoed through the room and he tugged her back down for another kiss, flipping them over so that he was above her on the bed. She tangled her fingers in his hair and tugged, changing the angle of the kiss.

Vaguely he wondered how hot and heavy she and the Beaver had gotten.

Then he shook the thought off and refused to think about his little brother anymore.

--

She drummed her fingers against the steering wheel and he leaned back in the seat, attempting to get comfortable and failing miserably. His hands were itching to do … _something_, anything really.

"I don't want to have sex," she blurted out suddenly.

Well. That was random.

Dick looked over at her and raised an eyebrow questioningly. Mac sighed and laughed nervously, drumming her fingers against the steering wheel again. She shook her head and glanced over at him before focusing her gaze back on the freeway.

"I don't want to have sex," she repeated. "I'm not … ready, I guess."

"Um … okay," he furrowed his brow.

"And that's probably been a staple of all your other relationships, but I'm not that girl," she continued. A second later her eyes widened and she looked over at him frantically. "Not that this is, you know, a relationship, but-"

"Dude, Mac," he cut her off. "Breathe."

She nodded and laughed, letting her head fall back against the seat. Her grip on the steering wheel relaxed and she didn't tense when he rested his hand on her thigh. The contact made his hands stop fidgeting and he grinned inwardly.

"Can we just … see what happens with this?" she asked. "I don't want to label anything."

"Yeah," he nodded and looked out the window, propping his feet on the dashboard. "We can do that."

Mac reached over and smacked at his feet, forcing him to put them back on the floor. The action forced her to lean over him dangerously and he caught her mouth quickly against his, letting her pull away so she could drive.

And yup. It made her smile.

Mission accomplished.


	9. Doing This Now

His head fell against the window and he awoke with a start, jumping slightly in the seat. She snorted next to him and he turned his head to glare at her, propping his feet on the dashboard to get more comfortable. Rolling her eyes, she leaned her elbow against the door and rested her head on her palm in defeat.

"You are cleaning my car when we get home," she warned.

Dick laughed and pulled on the seat lever, attempting to lower it back so that he could lie down properly. It shocked him when the seat practically flew backward and he let out a surprised shout, earning a snicker from the girl in the driver's seat.

Totally. Lame.

"Are you okay?" she giggled and turned to look at him briefly.

"Fine," he grumbled, playing with the shoulder strap on his seat belt. Mac shook her head and turned her attention back to the road, resting her head on her palm once again.

A comfortable silence filled the car and he sat up suddenly, tapping his knuckles against the roof with a grin. "Take the top off."

"I'm sorry, are you asking me to strip?"

He grinned, "I'll hold the wheel."

Rolling her eyes, she fought to rein in her blush as she looked over her shoulder and switched lanes. "Well, as fun as that experiment would be …" she trailed off sarcastically. He grinned again.

"I was talking about the car," he clarified. Nodding in understanding, she smirked at nothing in particular and then shook her head.

"It's like midnight, Dick; I'm not taking the top off."

"Oh, come on," he whined and pulled the seat back up, giving her his best pout.

Dude, _no one_ could resist that pout.

Mac smiled and shook her head again, leaning her head back against the seat with a sigh. "I'd have to pull over to do it, anyway, or the damn thing would fly off," she retorted. Dick opened his mouth to reply when she slapped her hand over his mouth, her eyes still locked on the road. "And if you whine at me again I swear to God I will kick you out of this car."

He licked her palm and she shrieked, yanking her hand back with a nervous, giddy laugh.

Glancing over at him as they passed under an exit sign, she shook her head with a grin and flicked on her blinker to take the next turn-off. With a grin he intertwined their fingers and kept her hand in his lap, refusing to let her have it back even after she had taken the exit.

Risking another slap was not something he was up for.

--

Scratching his head, he raised an eyebrow at her and she rested her hands on her hips, an irritated expression coloring her features. It would've been hot if he didn't think she was genuinely pissed off.

Which she was. Mostly.

"You broke my car!" she exclaimed. Dick held his hands up in defense.

"Dude, all I did was press the button."

"Well obviously you pressed it wrong," she decided, gesturing to the half-on half-off top. He shook his head and ran a hand through his hair, shrugging his shoulders as he plopped down on the hood.

"We'll fix it in a little while," he shrugged again and lay back against the windshield, bending his elbows and placing his hands behind his head. The glass was cold and he fought back a shiver, refusing to let her win this argument.

He _so_ did not break her car. She was just being a drama queen. Psshh.

Mac climbed up onto the hood next to him and lay back against the windshield without a word. When he glanced over at her a moment later she was tracing constellations with her eyes, smiling when she came across certain stars. Shifting closer to her on the hood, he removed his hands from behind his head and laid them on his stomach.

"Which ones do you know?"

"Not many," she replied, softly. Dick turned his head to look at her again and she returned his gaze, eyebrow raised in an almost-challenging way.

"Show me," he grinned and shifted even closer to her, refusing to touch her even though they were less than an inch apart at this point. Mac eyed him warily for a period of around thirty seconds before she shrugged and looked back up at the sky.

"Well, that's Orion," she pointed, tracing the fixture with her index finger. He furrowed his brow.

"No it's not," he argued.

Her head fell to the side and she stared at him incredulously. "Yes it is," she retorted.

"No," he shook his head again and pointed to a different portion of the sky. "Orion is over there."

"Are we seriously arguing about constellations?"

"Dude, Orion is right there, I'm telling you!"

"You're telling me wrong!" Mac countered. "Have you ever even _looked_ at the stars before tonight?"

Suddenly he froze, losing the thread of conversation and she widened her eyes when she realized the slip she'd made. He had a feeling Beaver had told her about their camp-outs when they were little kids. From her expression, he figured that feeling was right. Dick shrugged it off and she shook her head, scooting closer to him on the hood of the car and resting her head on his shoulder.

"I'm sorry," she sighed and rested a hand on his chest, tracing tiny designs in the fabric of his shirt. "I didn't mean to-"

"It's cool."

Nodding, she settled closer to him on the rapidly-cooling metal and he wrapped his arm around her shoulders, leaning his head back against the window. He swallowed thickly and she pressed a kiss to his cheek before propping herself up on her elbow to look down at him.

And she stared at him until he was too annoyed to ignore her anymore.

"What?" he sighed, exasperated, and turned his head slightly to regard her. Mac shrugged and looked down at his chest, quirking her mouth. When she raised her head again there was a smirk tugging at the corners of her mouth.

"Nothing," she shook her head and smiled cutely at him.

Yeah, _right_.

Dick raised an eyebrow and lifted his hand, tangling it lightly in her hair as he pulled her head toward his. Their lips met chastely and he purposefully kept his mouth shut, sliding his mouth against hers smoothly.

Reluctantly he let go of her long enough to take a breath and then her mouth was on his again, hot and demanding. His fingers slid more firmly into her hair and she pinned her hands on either side of his body, molding them against the hood of the car.

A slight mechanical whirring caught his attention and he pulled away from her, tilting his head back to see what the issue was. She let out a laugh when the top jerked back into motion, sliding smoothly back and revealing the interior of the car to the open air.

Silence settled over them and he tilted his head back down, grinning triumphantly.

After a moment, "Dude, I told you I didn't break your car!"

Mac rolled her eyes and smacked him in the chest – hard – before crawling off of him and hopping off the hood to return to the driver's seat. Dick scoffed and rolled off the car, jumping over the door and sliding into his own side smoothly.

"And Orion is totally over there," he said.

She smacked him in the chest again. Dude. The girl could hit, because _ow_.

--

Mac leaned against the passenger's side of the car, her phone pressed to her ear as she watched him try to figure out the gas pump. Well, no, not the pump. More like her car, because where the hell was the release for the tank?

She giggled in amusement and he turned his head to glare at her.

It so wasn't funny.

"He can't figure out my car," she laughed into her phone and he watched her as she paused to hear Veronica's response. "Yes, because it is such a curse to be rich," she rolled her eyes and walked around the car, leaning over the door to pop the cover on the gas tank.

Her position should've given him a nice view down her shirt, but no.

She had to be wearing his sweatshirt.

Chicks, man. They never made anything easy.

Dick rolled his eyes and turned his attention back to filling her car up, watching as the numbers climbed higher and higher on the little machine thing. Before she could, he popped his credit card into the machine and paid the bill, replacing the pump and clicking the cover back in place before hopping into the passenger's seat.

She glared at him but didn't say anything, ending her phone call and crawling into the driver's seat. Actually, she didn't make a sound until he stopped her from staring the car. Rolling her eyes, she turned to snap at him when he pressed his mouth to hers, curling her hand into his palm as he attempted to get closer to her without sitting on the center console.

"Fuck, Dick," she laughed and pushed him away, starting the car and pulling out of the gas station. He raised an eyebrow and smirked as he leaned back in the seat, propping his feet on the dashboard. She glared at him briefly and his smirk widened.

"I thought you weren't ready for me yet."

Her groan faded into an embarrassed giggle as they drove back onto the freeway, and he studied the mile marker curiously. They were heading south again. Back home.

Kinda scary, when he thought about it.

Veronica was totally going to kick his ass when they got home.

--

They ended up at the beach, just outside of San Francisco. He didn't know why she stopped, but when she got out of the car and wandered down the sand he didn't question it. He just followed her, warily glancing around the dusky stretch of sand and water.

Mac stopped walking when she reached the edge of the ocean and she folded her arms across her chest, letting her hair fly in front of her face as she watched the sun go down.

Mmk. Weird. Whatever.

Dick shoved his hands in his pockets and came to a stop a few feet behind her. This whole … odd, random-stopping-of-the-car-to-stand-on-the-beach thing was new to him. He wasn't sure how to act, so he just shut his mouth and waited for her to speak.

Just before the beach was submerged in darkness, she turned around to face him and he noticed the tears streaking her face. It concerned him, but comfort was new to him, too. She pulled her arms tighter around herself and looked down at her feet, working her jaw as she kicked at the sand.

He had a feeling he wasn't going to like what she was about to say.

"How much did you know?"

And then he froze.

This was not a conversation he wanted to have. Like … ever. But especially not now.

"Dick," she choked back a sob and bounced on the balls of her feet slightly, biting her bottom lip desperately. "How much did you know?" she repeated.

Shrugging his shoulders, he walked the few feet between them and stopped just in front of her, quirking his jaw back and forth. He laughed mirthlessly and looked up at the moon – which was covered by clouds – and looked back at her with another shrug.

"You really wanna do this now?"

Mac nodded and dropped her head, a few stray tears falling onto the sleeve of his sweatshirt as she continued to hug herself. Dick sighed and ran his hand down her arm, nodding in agreement.

"Okay."


	10. Coming Home

The rock jumped once, twice, three times and then sank when a light wave brought it under the surface of the water. He rolled his eyes and tossed another pebble, getting the same effect.

Skipping rocks in the ocean was so annoying. They never, like, _went_ anywhere.

Dick rolled his eyes again and turned around, shoving his hands in his pockets with a shrug. "He was all weirded out after he quit playing baseball, but other than that I didn't know anything," he told her. "Beaver wasn't big on sharing."

"Woody's little league team," Mac nodded and pulled her knees to her chest. He wandered up the sand toward her and plopped down next to her, leaning back on his hands and digging his fingers into the sand.

"Fucker deserved to get blown up," he replied angrily.

His baby bro may have been a nutcase, but no one fucked with the Casablancas family.

She was quiet for a while and he closed his eyes, digging little holes in the sand only to have dry particles fill them up again. After a few minutes she laughed and tilted her head back, shaking her head before dropping it back down again.

He raised an eyebrow when she went silent again.

Girl was a total freak show. It was official.

"He raped Veronica," she offered, nodding in resigned acceptance. His jaw dropped open and he sputtered, scooting down the sand until they were side-by-side. Mac shrugged her shoulders and played with her toes. "That night at Shelley's party," she continued.

Oh._ Fuck_.

"I guess …" she looked over at him and rested her cheek against her knees. "I'm kind of glad we didn't…" she blushed and looked away again, focusing her attention on the ocean.

"I stuck him in that room with her," he admitted, guiltily. Mac nodded her head.

"Yeah, I know," she replied. "Veronica told me all about it."

"Look, Mac, I didn't think-"

"I know, Dick," she sighed and looked over at him. "He was just … Beaver, right? He never would've done something like that."

"He did care about you," he offered awkwardly. Scratching his head, he shrugged his shoulders and leaned forward. "He was all … giddy when you guys were together. It was kinda weird."

She grinned and rolled her head to the side, raising an eyebrow at him. "Are you saying I don't make you giddy?"

The sudden shift in the conversation left his head spinning. His brow furrowed and he stared at her, open-mouthed, totally lost. She switched moods like a pregnant woman.

Which she wasn't, since she was all anti-Dick-sex.

And he totally wouldn't get her pregnant, anyway. Kids never did anything but fuck up the sex.

Mac stood and started walking backward down the beach, a smirk on her face. "Hey, where are you going?" he laughed. She shrugged and continued to back up.

"Skinny dipping?"

Tease. Such a fucking tease.

Dick groaned painfully and stood, chasing after her as she turned and took off down the beach, screaming and laughing as the spray of the ocean hit her skin. His arms wrapped around her from behind and they both lost their balance, falling into the water a moment later.

She surfaced first and he could hear her shrieking as he popped up a second later, pushing blonde hair out of his eyes and searching for her in the shallow expanse of water. Her arms were folded tightly across her chest, a pout was on her face, and his sweatshirt was soaked and clinging in all the right spots.

His grin irritated her, he could tell, and she turned to go back to shore when he wrapped his arms around her again. "Dude, you're totally breaking the rules," he complained into her neck.

Turning to face him, she raised an eyebrow in question and he grinned again.

"You're supposed to be naked when you swim in the ocean. It's like … an unwritten rule."

Her mouth pressed against his and she shook her head in amusement. "Not my fault you're so fucking clumsy." She kissed him again, cutting off any reply he may have had, and when she pulled him back onto shore he started complaining.

Then she kissed him again.

And he shut up after that.

--

She threw a fry at him and he glared at her, mouth open as he looked away from the freeway. She grinned and shrugged her shoulders, turning up the stereo as she continued to eat out of the greasy carton of oiled-down potatoes.

His glare was turned on the stereo and his eyes narrowed dangerously.

Death Cab … whatever-the-fuck was going on his shit list. Mellow music was bad.

Always. And this shit was emo, too, which only made it worse.

Mac cocked her head to the side and popped a fry in her mouth, curling her feet against the rug on the floor of the car. Dick leaned back against his seat again and rolled his shoulders, accelerating as they passed another mile marker.

Dude, he wanted a shower. With actual water pressure. And soap. And, like, shampoo that didn't smell like ass.

"Are you okay?" she wondered.

"Dude, I want a shower," he moaned pitifully. She laughed brightly and shook her head, lowering the volume on the music with a grin.

"We'll be home in three hours," she promised. "I think you can survive until then."

Dick turned his head to look at her and she smiled, leaning over and kissing his cheek lightly. His grip tightened on the steering wheel and she tugged his free hand into hers, curling her legs underneath her as she leaned back against the seat. Strands of purple and brown flew around her face and she closed her eyes, letting him intertwine their fingers as the afternoon sun grew hotter despite the wind.

--

She was asleep when he pulled into his driveway. Shaking her leg lightly, he said her name to wake her up and she grumbled, swatting at his arm and snuggling further into the seat of the car. Her head was pillowed against the door and he rolled his eyes, repeating her name.

She looked all cute and shit. It made him want to smile.

But then she swatted at his arm again and his smile turned into a pout. The only problem was that she couldn't see the pout so its effect was lost on her sleeping form. With a groan, he slid his hand down her leg and patted her knee, hopping out of the car and wandering around it to pick her up and carry her inside.

Totally workable plan.

Dick scratched his head, contemplating her position and trying to figure out how the fuck he was supposed to pick her up without waking her. He kicked a rock absently and it skittered under her car, clinking against the inside rim of a tire.

Mac's eyes opened and he groaned in annoyance. Picking her head up, she stretched and yawned tiredly, staring up at him blearily. After a moment she smiled and unhooked her seatbelt, opening the door and turning sideways in the seat, letting him open the door the rest of the way as she set her feet on the cement and leaned against the back of the seat with another yawn.

Yeah, it was still adorable.

"Dude, you are the most impossible person to wake up," he complained.

She cocked an eyebrow, "And you're Mr. Sunshine?"

He scoffed, "I never slept past like … noon on this trip."

"Noon is lunchtime in most cultures," she smiled and stood, stretching again as she shut the door and leaned against it. Dick shrugged, uninterested.

"Breakfast is overrated," he countered. Mac rolled her eyes and reached her hands out, pulling him in for a kiss as he pressed her against her car. She sighed against his mouth and tucked her hair behind her ear, biting at his lower lip when he leaned into her again. Trailing his mouth down her jaw, he tangled his fingers in her hair and tilted her head to gain better access to her neck.

Pushing him away, she laughed at his protest and kissed him once more, standing on her toes so that they were the same height. She kissed his cheek lightly and hummed quietly before backing out of his arms and wandering around the back of her car.

And dude. Still a fucking tease.

She opened the trunk and pulled his bag out of it, dropping it at her feet before slamming the trunk closed again. "Now I am going to go home and explain to my mother why we only talked three times in the past week," she explained, lifting his bag again as she walked back toward him. "And you are going to take that shower you've been whining about."

He stumbled back a bit when she shoved his bag into his arms, and the twinkle in her eye made him a little nervous. Dude, _Veronica_ got that twinkle in her eye all the fucking time. And that normally led to suffering of some sort on his end.

Chicks were fucking scary sometimes.

"Should I, like, lock the doors?"

Mac raised an eyebrow and he grinned, throwing his bag over his shoulder. "If Mars is going to kick my ass for touching you I'd like a little advance warning."

"Oh, God," she laughed and stepped closer to him, shaking her head. "If anything you should be worried about Logan."

"Something you need to tell me?"

"Um, you were the one that said he was too protective."

"Fuck," he grumbled and adjusted his grip on the duffel bag, letting it hang at his side as he kissed her forehead in goodbye. As he walked up the steps he fished his keys out of his pocket, unlocking the door before entering it with a final wave in her direction.

But she had already pulled out of the driveway by the time the door was open.

Lame, lame,_ lame_.

--

There was a crick in his neck when he woke up the next morning, and the couch was officially his least favorite place to sleep. It was too small to be comfortable for an entire night, despite how soft the cushions were, and he rolled his eyes as he crawled off the couch to lie on the floor.

For some reason, the floor felt better to him. He knew his bed would be even better than that, but in order to get to his room he had to pass by his baby brother's. And that just didn't settle well in his stomach, so he curled up on the living room carpet instead.

Just as he was falling back asleep, a familiar voice rang out through the house.

Dick grinned into the carpet and opened his eyes, a worn-out pair of converse greeting him as he rolled his head to the side. Mac sighed heavily and sat down next to his head, crossing her legs gracefully. She shook her head as he laid his in her lap, and he grinned up at her as she fought back a smile.

"Tell me you didn't get wasted last night," she pleaded.

"Dude, I passed out as soon as I sat down," he countered. Which was true, mostly. He'd taken a shower and flopped down on the couch, changing into clothes he'd found in the dryer that were miraculously clean and unwrinkled. She didn't buy it, though, and her raised eyebrow indicated as much. "I'm serious!"

Sighing, she ran a hand through his tangled hair and leaned down to greet him properly. "You know," she whispered when they parted, "You will have to go upstairs sooner or later."

"Later," he waved his hand absently and sat up. "I have an ass-kicking to get out of the way," he grinned at her and stood, holding out a hand to help her up. She stared at him for a moment and then shrugged, accepting his hand as she got to her feet. Their lips met briefly and she grinned conspiratorially.

"So how much power do you think Veronica has?" she wondered, wandering backwards to the front door. "She can't possibly do _that_ much damage."

Dick glared as he followed her out of the house, remaining silent as she continued to taunt him.

He didn't care what she said.

Veronica Mars was one scary little pixie.


	11. Pixie Fist of Doom

She opened the door looking all disheveled and he opened his mouth to comment when she beat him to it. "Hurt her and I swear to God I will kill you," Veronica swore, running a hand through her tangled blonde hair. The loose ponytail it had been in came out with the simple gesture and she tugged her hair-tie onto her wrist, glaring at him as she backed up into the suite and left the door open.

Mac snickered and he turned his head to glare at her. She smiled gently and reached out to squeeze his hand before letting go, following her friend into the room. His glare intensified as he followed her and shut the door behind him, only to find his best friend arguing with the blonde girl over where his new place should be.

There was no other comment about him and his … urm … Mac.

Kind of shocking, but whatever, that was cool. Not like he was actually looking forward to the interrogation.

Dick flopped down in an armchair and Veronica looked up from the paper Logan was holding in front of her face to glare at him again. He returned her look and she raised an eyebrow challengingly as Logan greeted him with a smirk.

Pixie fist of _doom_, dude. He officially hated being home.

"Veronica," Logan rolled his eyes and tilted his head back, looking at her with an exasperated expression. "I am _not_ moving into a dorm room."

"Well, we wouldn't want some poor unfortunate soul to be subjected to your jackass ways," she sighed and sat down next to him, folding her legs up underneath her. He glared playfully and she grinned, turning her attention to Mac. "Now tell me about your trip while he's pouting."

Logan protested and Dick snickered, earning another warning glare from Veronica.

Scary. Little. _Pixie_.

"I think you're losing your touch, _Ronnie_," he grinned and leaned back in his seat, folding his hands behind his head. "I didn't even feel the acid in that one."

Mac rolled her eyes, "Can you two play nice for ten minutes? Please?"

"Let me know when that happens," Logan requested, smirking as he lay back against the end of the couch. "I'd like to be aware of the apocalypse before it takes me."

"Mac, tell your boyfriend not to fuck with me," Veronica requested. Mac's eyebrows shot up and Dick coughed into his fist, suddenly choking on air.

"We're not dating," Mac quickly corrected, shaking her head frantically. Logan chuckled and Veronica rolled her eyes, glancing over at her boyfriend.

"Were we this in denial?" she wondered, smiling. Logan shrugged as he contemplated the question, shaking his head after a moment. He held his finger in the air and Dick narrowed his eyes, annoyed with the conversation.

And his friend. And that little pixie thing.

It was all just annoying in general.

"We never discussed our relationship," Logan said. "It was never defined as anything more than hot make-out sessions in the girls' bathroom."

"Dude, you called her your girlfriend and kicked me out of your house when your dad threw that totally random party," Dick argued. Veronica rolled her eyes again and Logan grinned, remembering.

"Ah, but that was because I had people to proclaim it to."

"And we all know he never denies a chance to tell the whole world that he loves me," Veronica grinned cheekily. Mac laughed brightly and Dick glanced over at her, momentarily distracted by the strand of purple hair that was sticking to her lip gloss.

_Dude_. This was totally uncool.

Logan kissed Veronica's cheek with a grin and flung his legs across her lap, ignoring her scowl as he steepled his fingers together and appraised his friend. Dick snapped out of his reverie and Logan grinned again.

"Damn, man, you're like drooling."

Dick glared and began to defend himself when Mac cut him off. "But on the bright side, at least he's not lusting after your girlfriend."

"Bad mental image," Veronica cringed.

"Like I'd ever hit that," Dick scoffed, eyeing Veronica in disgust. She raised an eyebrow and leaned back against Logan, quirking her mouth. That damn twinkle was in her eye.

Fuck.

Veronica's eyes rolled toward the ceiling and she quirked her mouth again, a smile breaking across her features. "I seem to remember you propositioning me at the Alterna-Prom," she said slowly. Mac raised an eyebrow at him and he rolled his eyes, sinking further into the armchair with a groan.

He officially hated all things Tinkerbelle-like.

--

He didn't go with her to the cemetery. It wasn't like it would help him to look at some stone in the ground with his little bro's name engraved in it. She had practically begged him to go and it had ended in a huge fight between the two of them, purple strands of hair flying behind her as she rushed out of the house in anger.

They hadn't spoken since.

It had been like three days.

Rolling his eyes, he paused the video game he was playing and pushed himself off the couch, wandering into the kitchen and scratching his stomach idly. The fridge was empty but he opened the door anyway, convinced that food or beer or something would magically appear if he did it enough times.

Too bad pixies didn't have magical powers.

If they did he could just make Veronica come over and open the fridge, and like – _boom_ – there would be something to eat.

Dick scratched his head with a yawn and stumbled back out of the kitchen, wandering up the stairs with a tired sigh. All-night movie and video game marathons were totally tiring, he didn't care what people said. They just wouldn't get it until they played Halo 2 for five hours straight.

It was strenuous.

The door – _that _door – loomed in front of him and he stopped abruptly, staring at it blankly. He looked around for a minute and then focused his attention back on the unassuming piece of wood, ignoring the salt in his eyes as he walked forward and pushed it open.

There was a quiet bang when the doorknob came in contact with the wall and he wiped his eyes, turning around and walking into his room. His cell phone was pressed to his ear only a minute later and the ringing in his ear was annoying as hell.

She answered after the second ring, sounding tired and frustrated with the state of the world.

"Come over."

And that was that.

--

Dick's eyes were glued to the carpet when he heard her walking up the stairs, and he didn't bother to look at her when he heard her gasp behind him. A second later her hand was on his back and her cheek was against his shoulder, fingers tracing tiny patterns into his shirt. He crossed his arms over his chest and she turned her head, looking up at him questioningly.

"What are you doing?"

Grinning, he replied, "Repairing the wound, dude." Mac rolled her eyes and he turned, finally, leaning against the door jamb and pulling her into his body. Her hands pressed against his chest and he sighed heavily. "I'm sorry I'm an ass."

"There's probably a prescription for that," she smiled and cocked her head to the side. After a pause she nodded her head in a forgiving manner. He grinned again and ducked down to kiss her, running his fingers through her hair before letting go.

He'd missed her.

Not that she'd ever know that. Dude, it was Logan's job to be whipped, not his.

Turning toward the room, he wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her against his side. She sighed and leaned against him, nodding her head resignedly.

"We're really going to do this?"

"Not like he needs any of this stuff anymore," he waved his hand flippantly. "And I'm selling the house soon anyway."

Mac looked up at him in surprise, eyebrows raised. "You are?"

"Yeah," he shrugged. "Got my diploma online, so now I'm all college-bound."

She smiled and kissed him quickly before turning to the pile of boxes that was sitting in the hallway. Taking a deep breath, she let go of him and wandered over to the stack of cardboard, shrugging her shoulders as they set about packing everything up.

--

Dropping one last box in the pile that was sitting in the living room, she sat down on the coffee table with a tired huff. Dick kicked a box idly and sat down next to her, nodding his head as he looked at the mess around them. Mac looked over at him and he ignored her, observing their work carefully.

Bye bye, Beaver.

He kicked at another box and she slid her hand over his, silently staring at the mess of cardboard in front of them. Shrugging, he flipped his hand over so that they were palm-to-palm. She didn't say anything when he mentioned the storage unit he'd reserved after he called her.

It was a while before either of them spoke after that.

"I miss him, sometimes," she quirked her mouth and smiled a little. "I'll be doing something and randomly think of him and I'll just … miss him, you know?"

"Yeah," he nodded and slid his fingers between hers. A pause and then, "Still having nightmares?"

Mac bit her lip and shook her head, hair falling in front of her face with the action. "They stopped after I went to the cemetery. I guess I just needed to say goodbye," she shrugged and smiled at him.

"Dude, that whole burial thing has never made sense to me," he scrunched up his nose. "This," he gestured around them, "Is much more effective."

"Why?"

"More memories, fewer questions, whatever," he shrugged and stood up, turning to face her as he leaned against the wall. Nodding, she looked up at him with wide eyes and he jumped a bit at the intensity in them.

When he held his hands out to her she took them between her own and stood, crossing the short distance between them to crash her mouth onto his. Dick groaned and tangled his hands in her hair, hyper-aware of her fingers as she slid her hands under his shirt.

"Fuck, Mac," he exhaled sharply and pulled away from her, though he continued to back her up toward the couch. She ducked her head and stopped walking, biting her lip nervously before looking up at him again.

She smiled and nodded her head, and he growled as he pulled her into another kiss.

The next few minutes were a blur, and when she was topless and underneath him he had to pause to catch his breath. _Fuck_, she was gorgeous. And she wasn't, like, normal gorgeous, either. She was like … he didn't know, but he liked it.

A lot.

Trailing his mouth down her neck, he left a path of open-mouthed kisses all along her body until he reached the waistband of her jeans. His eyes locked onto hers as he popped open her fly and she gulped, reaching down to run a hand through his hair.

Dick dragged the denim down her thighs, calves, and off her body, dropping it unceremoniously on the floor before crawling back up her body. Mac freed him of his t-shirt and he kissed her again, sloppily.

His hand trailed a line down the center of her stomach and she swallowed thickly, offering him a reassuring smile as her breath increased its pace. Her eyes rolled back and she shivered beneath him, breath hitching in her throat when he trailed his fingers up her thigh. Eyelashes fluttering, she forced her eyes open and took a deep breath when he stopped his ascent.

For a second he was scared he'd taken it too far. She'd told him that she didn't want to have sex when they started this whole … thing. He was about to get off of her when she squeezed his arm, smiling slightly. Mac inhaled heavily and nodded her head, trailing her hand down his arm.

"Just … go slow," she requested, whispering against his mouth.

And he did.

_finis._


End file.
